Little White Lies
by bohemiangirl
Summary: Addison is looking after Maya for the weekend when Naomi and Sam are out of town. Maya tells Addison that she is going to the movies but it doesn't seem to add up. When she doesn't return home Addison and Pete go into a panic. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

DICLAIMER: I don't own any of the Private Practice characters.

**CHAPTER ONE **

"No junk food, no staying out past curfew, no skipping homework, no-"

"Naomi," Sam said, gently pulling his ex wife away from their daughter Maya who appeared suffocated by her mother's embrace. "It's one night. Maya's a big girl and Addison is more than capable of taking care of her."

"Sorry," Naomi said guiltily, standing up straight. She looked at Addison. "I'm not saying you can't look after her. She's just my baby and –"

"Mom!" Maya protested. "I'm nearly fourteen."

"She'll be fine," Addison said with a smile. "Wont you, kiddo?" Maya smiled.

"Yes she will be," Sam said looking at his watch. "If we don't leave now we're gonna miss our flight."

"Okay," Naomi said. She gave Maya a kiss and a hug and hugged Addison. Sam gave Maya a hug.

"Call us if there are any problems," he said as they headed out the door.

"Freedom!" Maya said, throwing her arms up in the air, as her parents got into a waiting taxi headed for the airport where they would board a plane to Boston for a medical conference. It would be a whirlwind trip; they would only spend one night in Boston in between seminars, meetings and meet and greets before heading back to LA the next day to be back in the office by Monday.

"So," Addison said. "It's Saturday. I'm not working, you're not at school. What do you wanna do?"

"Shopping!" Maya said with a grin.

"Sounds good to me," Addison said, grabbing her keys. She had secretly been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. Maya was the closest thing she had to a daughter and she loved her unconditionally.

&&&

Three hours later Addison and Maya sat in the food court at the mall, shopping bags surrounding them. Maya finished her burger and pulled out a strappy shirt that she had bought that day.

"I think I'll wear this tonight," she said with a smile. "Before Mom makes me take it back."

"Why would she make you take it back?" Addison asked. Maya pointed at the neckline. "It's not that bad."

"Do you know my mother? Maya asked.

"Valid point," Addison said, conceding.

"Ugh, why cant Mom be more like you?" Maya asked.

"Maya, your mother lo- wait… you said you were gonna wear it tonight. Where are you going?"

"I told you. I'm going out with friends."

"You what?" Addison asked. "You never told me that. I'd planned a girls night in."

"Sorry," Maya said. "But I've really been looking forward to this."

"Do your parents know you're going out?" Addison asked.

"Yeah of course," Maya replied. "It's just to the movies. Can you drive me?" Addison sighed.

"Alright," she replied. "I have an article to write anyway." She looked disappointed.

"What?" Maya asked.

"Nothing," Addison said with a smile. "Let's go home."

&&&

At 6:45pm Addison checked her watch.

"Maya!" she called out. "Are you nearly ready? You're gonna miss your movie."

"Coming!" Maya shouted back. Addison yawned, leaning against the wall. They had spent the afternoon experimenting with make up and hair styles and looking through magazines. Addison felt more worn out by the girl talk than she did after a full patient load at work.

"Wow!" Addison said as she saw Maya emerge from the hallway. Her hair had been straightened and she had on make up that made her face glow. She was dressed in dark denim jeans, the red strappy top that she had bought earlier that day and a pair of Addison's red high heals.

"Is it okay if I borrow these?" Maya asked. Addison nodded.

"You look amazing," she said. Addison remembered that she was looking at Naomi's thirteen year old daughter. "Hang on a second," Addison said. She went into her bedroom and pulled a fashionable black jacket from the wardrobe. She took some tissues from her bedside table and headed back out to the hall where Maya was waiting. Addison began removing some of Maya's eye make up with the tissues.

"What are you doing?" Maya asked. "I spent ages on that."

"And it looks great if you're twenty one," Addison said. "I'm just taking a bit off. I don't want you looking older than you are. You're only thirteen." She handed Maya the jacket. Maya looked confused. "And I don't want every boy that sees you to think that you're available."

"I am available," Maya said.

"No, you're not," Addison said. "Put it on." Maya looked at the jacket. "It's Prada," Addison said with a smile, hoping to entice her. This seemed to work. Maya put the jacket on and Addison did all of the buttons up. "Beautiful!" Addison said. "Let's go."

&&&

"Do you see your friends?" Addison asked when they reached the movie theatre. Maya scanned the crowd.

"There," she said pointing.  
"Alright, I'll find a park," Addison said. Maya looked as though she was going to argue for a moment but held back. She took her phone and started texting. "You're gonna miss the movie," Addison said as they walked through the car park as Maya sent text messages.

"I'm coming," Maya said, catching up. They reached the small group of kids. "This is Addison," Maya said introducing her to her friends. "My Mom's friend."

"Hi," Addison said with a smile. They looked like a good bunch of kids. "Do you know what time the movie finishes?"

"It finishes around ten thirty," one of the girls said.

"Okay," Addison said, looking at her watch. "Long movie," she said to herself. Maya's curfew was ten. _What's half an hour? _Addison thought to herself. "I'll be back then. Behave."

"I can take her home," one girl spoke up. "I'm Giselle's sister." Addison looked the tall girl up and down. "Giselle's not allowed to stay out past ten so I have to go too. I live in the same area as Maya's staying."

"How long have you had your license?" Addison asked.

"Two years," the girl replied.

"And have you ever been in an accident?" Maya looked embarrassed.

"No, ma'am." Addison decided that the girl looked responsible enough.

"Okay," Addison said. "That'd be great. Please bring her straight home."

&&&

Addison sat in front of her laptop at the dining room table. She was nearly finished her third glass of red wine. She sleepily read over the two thousand words of the six thousand word genetics article to be published in a major national medical journal. Addison yawned and struggled to keep her eyes open. She looked at her watch. It was 10:02pm. She sleepily pushed the laptop further back on the table and rested her head.

Addison was awoken by the sound of someone pounding on the window. She woke with a fright. She checked her laptop screen, hoping that somehow the article had miraculously written itself. The knocking started again.

"Alright!" she said, tired and annoyed. She saw Pete standing at the kitchen window, a smug smile on his face. She walked to the front door and met him there.

"You look… unforgettable," he said, smiling at Addison's messed up hair, puffy eyes, sweat pants and Yankee's T shirt.

"Wipe that smile off your face," Addison mumbled. "Do you want to come in?" she asked yawning. Pete shrugged.

"I was just going for a drive… you know… around… and I saw your light on. Just wanted to make sure that everything was alright."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Addison asked, yawning again.

"I thought you would be in bed by now. Don't you have Maya?"

"I'm working on my article," Addison said. "Did Naomi send you to check up on me?" Pete shook his head. "Maya's at the movies with friends."

"This late?" Pete asked, puzzled. Addison looked confused for a moment. She checked her watch. It was 1:14am.

"Shit!" Addison said. She looked up at Pete. "I fell asleep. She was being brought home at ten thirty."

"Don't panic," Pete said. "Does she have a key?" Addison nodded. "Well maybe she's already home and just didn't want to wake you." He stepped into the house.

"You're right," Addison said, she ran up the stairs and into the guest room. There was no sign of Maya. "Maya!" she shouted out, checking every room upstairs.

"Maya!" Pete called out, checking the rooms downstairs. He picked Addison's cell phone up off the table and checked it for missed calls and text messages. There was nothing.

"She's not here," Addison said, worried, as she descended the staircase quickly. Her cell phone started to ring. "Oh thank God!" she said, relieved.

"It's Naomi," Pete said, watching the incoming call on the screen. Addison looked panicked for a moment. Then she composed herself and took the phone from Pete.

"Hi, Nay," she said.

"Sorry to call so late. We're at this ball. I managed to get away for a moment," Naomi said. "So did you girls have a good day?"

"Yeah," Addison said, trying to hide her concern. "We did. Just the two of us."

"How's Maya?"

"She's good," Addison said. She watched as Pete searched through the list of phone numbers in a notebook that she kept on the kitchen bench. When he found Maya's cell phone number he dialed it from the land line. His face fell and he looked at Addison, concerned. "Nay- I have to go," Addison said, cutting off Naomi, who was telling Addison all about the hotel.

"Why?" Naomi asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Addison answered. "Pete's here."

"Oh," Naomi said, teasing. Addison could tell that she was smiling.

"Bye." Addison hung up the phone.

"Her phone's turned off," Pete said.

"Crap," Addison said, pacing back and forth. "I have to go look for her."

"I'll drive you," Pete said, noticing the open wine bottle on the table. "Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews. Much appreciated. Here's the next chapter.

**CHAPTER TWO**

"It's gonna be okay," Pete said gently as they drove through the streets of LA. He was deeply concerned but trying to play it cool for Addison's sake. He had never seen her this wound up. Addison was biting her nails, carefully scanning everything and everyone for any trace of Maya. Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking. She didn't think that Pete had noticed but he had.

"You don't know that," she replied with more force than she intended. "We need to call the police."

"You can try," Pete said. "But unless she's missing for a longer period of time they won't take it seriously."

"Pete, this is a thirteen year old girl in a city full of drive bys and freaks and-"

"That's my city you're defaming!" Pete interrupted.

"Sorry," Addison said. She took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. She was Addison Forbes Montgomery, she told herself. She was a strong, independent woman who was always in control. This would work out for the best. It had to.

They reached the movie theatre where Addison had dropped Maya off earlier. She got out of the car before Pete had turned the ignition off. Addison walked briskly over to the building holding a recent framed photograph that she had grabbed from a shelf as she and Pete left the house. "Excuse me," Addison said to a girl at the counter. The theatre was still open for a midnight movie screening. "Have you seen this girl? I dropped her off here around seven. Her name is Maya and she was wearing a red shirt and black jacket and jeans and-" the girl shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said. "If I did I don't remember. We get lots of young girls here on Saturday nights." Addison sighed and began to walk away. It had started to rain. She looked around desperately. She had the same sickening feeling that she got when one of her patients was in trouble. The only difference being that when it was a patient she could intervene. In this moment she felt utterly hopeless.

Pete saw Addison wander out of the theatre in a daze and approached her. He had been talking to the beefy security guard who didn't remember seeing Maya.

"Anything?" Addison asked, her voice shaking. Pete shook his head. "I'm calling the police anyway," she said, determined. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number. Addison didn't even realise that they were standing in the rain. Pete took her by the arm and led her to an under cover area. "Yes hello," Addison said into the phone. "I'd like to report a missing person…" Pete listened intently. "Um… around seven pm… so it's been six and a half hours… no but you don't understand. She's thirteen and her phone's turned off and I'm meant to be taking care of her and-" Addison stopped stunned. "She hung up on me," she said in disbelief. "After she told me I wasn't doing a very good job of looking after her." Pete looked at Addison sympathetically. He knew how much she loved Maya. They all did. Addison started walking through the rain towards the car. Pete caught up with her and realised that she was crying. He put his arm around her and gently pulled her into him as they walked. Addison didn't speak but she appreciated the gesture. She clung close to Pete, feeling a little calmer against the warmth of his body.

"Who was she with?" Pete asked when they reached the car and got in.

"Um…" Addison wiped her eyes and tried to think. "The girl driving her home was Giselle's sister. That's all I know." Pete sighed. "They looked like good kids!" Addison said defensively.

"Okay, we can call Naomi and ask if she knows Giselle's number and call her parents," Pete suggested. Addison shook her head.

"No," she said, defiantly. "Not yet. I have a key to Naomi's house. We'll see if we can hind the number there."

&&&

Pete and Addison drove to Naomi's house in silence, each searching every young girl's face on the way in case it was Maya. They quickly went into the house and searched through the documents and books lying around on the kitchen bench and the notes on the fridge. Nothing. Addison ran into the office and looked through the contents of the desk draws.

"Found something!" she shouted.

"What is it?" Pete asked as he joined Addison in the office. She held up a small address book. It read 'Maya's friends.'

"My mother kept one of these for me as well," Addison said as she flipped through the book, quietly praising Naomi's organizational skills. "These no Giselle in here," she said sounding panicked again.

"Let me look at it," Pete said, taking the book from Addison. He quickly and carefully scanned every name. There was no one named Giselle.

"She said she lived near me," Addison said. "Maybe we should drive around my area."

"We already did that," Pete said. He was sounding tense. Addison knew that he was getting more worried. "Right," he said. "We're gonna call every name in this book. I don't care if it's nearly two am. I don't think she saw the movie. That was a front. We need to find out where she really went. I'm calling re enforcements.

&&&

Within ten minutes Violet and Cooper had arrived, looking slightly sleep deprived but very concerned nonetheless. They pulled out their mobile phones.

"How're you doing?" Violet asked, Addison, giving her an arm a squeeze for support. Addison looked back at her on the verge of tears. Cooper didn't know what he could say to help the situation so he put a cross next to a name in the book and dialed the number.

&&&

After half an hour of calling they had found out nothing. The book held the names of what seemed like every friend Maya had ever made. They had called angry parents whose children hadn't seen Maya for years. Addison looked at the next name on the list.

"Ruby," she said to herself.

"You know her?" Cooper asked. Addison nodded.

"That's Maya's friend who had the ectopic pregnancy," she replied. She dialed the mobile number. Ruby answered. "Hi Ruby its Doctor Addison Montgomery," she said into the phone. "Remember me?"

"Yes," Ruby said quietly.

"Look, Ruby. I need to know where Maya is. I took her to the movies earlier and she never came home. If you know where she is I need to tell me or so help me God I will-"

"She's with her boyfriend," Ruby said quietly. But I didn't tell you that."

"Maya doesn't have a boyfriend," Addison said dismissively. Pete, Cooper and Violet stopped what they were doing and listened intently.

"Yes she does," Ruby said. "His name's Daniel."

"What's his last name?" Addison asked. Ruby didn't reply. "Ruby!"

"Daniel West," Ruby said in a quiet voice.

"How old is he?"

"Sixteen," Ruby answered. Addison felt sick. "There's a party," Ruby continued. "Maya knew she'd never be able to go so some of Daniel's friends agreed to meet her at the movies and then Daniel would pick them up in his car and take them to the party."

"Do you know anything else?" Addison asked.

"That's all I know, I swear," Ruby said. She gave Addison the address of the party. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere after her pregnancy scandal. Addison hung up the phone. "Let's go," she said.

&&&

"I wasn't cool enough to go to parties when I was Maya's age," Cooper said from the back seat as the four doctors headed to the address that Ruby had given Addison. Addison turned around from the passenger seat and glared at him.

"What?" Cooper asked. Violet hit him on the arm.

"Not the right time," Violet whispered.

"It's just up here," Pete said, pointing ahead. "About two streets away." As they turned the corner of the quiet street, all four of them gasped at the sight before them. They were forced to stop the car as the area had been cordoned off. A metallic coloured high performance car had flipped and ploughed into a tree. Police were interviewing onlookers and paramedics had just arrived at the scene. Addison was the first to get out of the car. She jogged over to the car and lifted up the police tape, walking straight though.

"Hey!" a police officer shouted. "You can't-"

"I'm a doctor," Addison said without even looking at him. He let her go.

"What happened?" Violet asked a woman standing nearby.

"Two cars street racing," she said shaking her head. "They'd been at a party around the corner. One car clipped that one and it flipped and hit the tree. Happened about ten minutes ago."

"You mean they're still in there?" Violet asked.

Addison went over to the smashed up car just as the paramedics did the same. She bent down and peered in. The driver and his passenger were hanging upside down by their seat belts in the flipped car. Addison froze for a moment when she saw a glimpse of a red satin shirt.

"Maya?" she shouted, scared. Addison had approached the wreckage in full doctor mode. She wasn't prepared for this. Maya slowly turned her head to face Addison. Her dark eyes were full of tears. She had a deep cut on her head.

"Please don't tell Mom and Dad," she said, terrified. Addison looked over at the driver. He was unconscious and being assisted by the paramedics. Addison managed to force herself back into doctor mode.

"Maya, honey, are you hurt?" Addison asked, trying to get closer to her but trying to avoid the broken glass at the same time.  
"My wrist," Maya answered. "It really hurts."

"Anywhere else?" Addison asked.

"I'm really dizzy," Maya said.

"You have a cut on your head, honey," Addison said. She looked around helplessly as more paramedics and a fire crew arrived. "I need a towel!" she shouted. The paramedics had concerned themselves with the driver of the car who they considered to be a higher priority. "Hey!" Addison shouted, frustrated.

"Take this," Pete said, approaching the wreckage. He took his jacket off and gave it to Addison. Addison leaned forward as far as she could and passed it to Maya. "Take this and press it against your head. You're losing blood. We need to stop it."

"Am I gonna die?" Maya asked, her giant brown eyes revealing her fear. Addison shook her head.

"No," she said. Cooper approached them with a rescue worker.

"The fire crew is ready to look over the area. They're gonna cut them out as soon as it's safe." Addison nodded her heart pounding.

"Is she stable?" a rescue worker asked. Addison nodded.

"For now. We need to get her out of there."

"I'm going to have to get you to step away so that I can examine the wreckage," the rescue worker said.

"Okay," Addison replied, but she couldn't bring herself to break eye contact with Maya. She didn't move. Cooper bent down beside her.

"Maya, sweetie, the rescue workers have to get in. Addison has to stand over here for a few minutes okay? Everything's going to be fine. We're just over there." Maya nodded, clearly terrified.

Violet had been standing back, trying to let the rescue workers do their job but she knew it was time to step in. She had seen Addison's demeanor fluctuate from her cool, calm and collected persona to panic stricken and back again in the space of an hour. She looked exhausted. Violet went over to the wreckage and helped Pete pull Addison to her feet as Cooper attempted to calm Maya whom he feared was going into shock.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"She's going to be alright," Violet said comfortingly to Addison as she and Pete helped lead her over to the sidewalk.

"You don't know that," Addison said. "You don't know what other injuries she has. God, I can't believe this."

"They'll get her out soon," Pete said softly. Addison looked into his eyes and he instinctively kissed her on the forehead and pulled her close to him. Addison kept her eyes on the wreckage but held on tightly to Pete, leaving Violet standing awkwardly to the side.

&&&

"We're ready to cut them out," the rescue worker said to the paramedics.

"We can't stabalise the driver," the paramedics replied. "Nothing's moving until we say so."

"We need to get the girl out," Cooper intervened from where he had been standing at a respectable distance. "We don't know what kind of injuries she has. We're only guessing at this point."

"No one moves," a paramedic said in an authoritive tone. Cooper sighed, frustrated. He had observed the condition of the driver and knew that there was no way that he would make it out of the wreckage alive. He knew that the paramedics knew it too. They just needed to tell his family that they did everything that they could.

"How're you doing there, sport?" Cooper asked kneeling down to see Maya who was visibly weaker than she was earlier. "Maya?" Maya moaned something inaudibly in response. Her arm slipped down from where it had been, holding the jacket against her head, and blood trickled down her forehead. "We need to get her out of here now!" Cooper shouted to the paramedics and rescue crews.

"There's still no pulse," a paramedic said from where they were working on the driver. She looked the other paramedic who gave rescue the order to free them.

"Hold on, Maya, you'll be out soon," Cooper said encouragingly. "Stay awake for me."

"I should be over there," Addison said, her voice quivering.

"You need to give them space to work," Pete said, still holding her in his arms.

Three of the four paramedics moved around to Maya's side of the car. As soon as the top of the car had been lifted off, they lifted Maya out of the wreckage and placed her on a spine board.

"She's unconscious," Addison said, almost chocking on her words as she broke away from Pete and went over to the paramedics.

"Right pupil's blown," a paramedic said.

"Shit!" Addison exclaimed.

"Stay back, ma'am," a paramedic warned.

"I'm a doctor!" Addison protested.

"Not tonight," Pete said gently. "Come on, we'll follow them to the hospital." Addison reluctantly allowed Pete, along with Violet and Cooper to walk her to the car.

&&&

"I should call Naomi" Addison said in the car, taking her cell phone out of her handbag. She sounded almost robotic.

"Not yet," Pete insisted, reaching over to Addison and resting his hand on top of hers. "Wait until we get an update on her condition so that we have something to tell her."

"She's gonna kill me," Addison said.

"Yeah she is," Cooper chimed in. Violet hit him on the arm. "What? I'm just stating a fact!" Cooper exclaimed defensively.

"How could I ever…" Addison started, but trailed off.

"Ever what?" Violet asked from the back seat.

"No, it's stupid, don't worry," Addison said dismissively.

&&&

"I can't see Maya anywhere," Cooper said, searching through the ER of the hospital that they had used their 'doctor' status to gain access to. "Are you sure they came to this hospital?"

"Can I help you with something?" an ER nurse asked them.

"We're looking for Maya Bennett," Addison asked, saying Maya's name extra slowly.

"Are you a relative or guardian?" the nurse asked.

"I'm her temporary guardian," Addison said. "Supposed to be…"

"She's been taken into surgery," the nurse explained. "They found a bleed on her brain. It'll be a few hours before she's out."

"Great," Addison said tearfully. "That's just great."

"Can I please see a copy of the scans?" Cooper asked. I'm a doctor.

"I know who you are, Doctor," the nurse said with a devilish smile. "Come with me."

Pete followed Cooper to look over Maya's scans while Violet took Addison up to the surgical waiting room.

"I should call Derek," Addison said as they sat down.

"Why would you call your ex?" Violet asked, confused.

"He's a neurosurgeon. The best."

"I'm sure that Maya's in excellent hands," Violet said encouragingly. "She needs surgery now. Not in a few hours." They sat in silence for awhile.

"What were you saying in the car?" Violet asked. "You started to say something but you stopped."

"It's nothing," Addison dismissively. Violet knew better.

"No it's not." Addison took a deep breath and sighed.

"I wanted to adopt."

"And what's changed?" Violet asked. Addison looked confused.

"Uh… I've been in charge of a teenager for twelve hours and now she's having brain surgery."

"That doesn't mean that you'll be a bad parent," Violet said sweetly. "This isn't your fault!"

"Oh I think that it does mean that," Addison said, standing up and starting to face the room. "Because this is the first time that I've seriously, really thought about adopting a baby since I found out I was baron. God couldn't send a clearer message if he tried." Addison was extremely upset now. Tears were spilling down her cheeks and her breathing was becoming increasingly rapid.

"Take some deep breaths for me," Violet said, standing up and going over to Addison.

"Jesus, what if she dies?" Addison asked.

"Don't think like that," Violet said.

"Or what if she can't walk or talk for the rest of her life?" Addison asked, horrified at the thought.

"Sit down," Addison, Violet said gently.

"No, I just need…" Addison started, not knowing what she needed at that point in time.

"What do you need?" Violet asked.

"It's really stuffy in here," Addison said, looking around the room. "I have to get out of here."

"Addison." Violet tried to stop her.

"No, I just need to get some air," Addison argued, rushing over to the elevator and getting in before Violet could stop it.


	4. Chapter 4

A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I really appreciate it. Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been very sick. Please continue to read, review and enjoy.

**CHAPTER 4**

Addison walked aimlessly around the hospital carpark, not heading in any particular direction. She thought about how many times she had told relatives of her patients to 'just stay calm' as though their panic was something that they could switch on and off. Now she was seeing things from their perspective and she didn't like it one bit. Addison was not used to feeling powerless. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

"Hey," Pete said, interrupting her. "Going somewhere?"

"Just going crazy," Addison confessed. "Have you heard anything?" Pete shook his head. Addison sighed in frustration.

"You know it's a good thing if we haven't heard anything," Pete said. "It means that nothing's gone wrong." Addison knew that this was true but it was of little comfort to her at that moment. She didn't know a lot about the procedure that was being performed on Maya and it made her feel so small.

"I wish that there was something I could say to make you feel better," Pete confessed.

"I wish there was too," Addison said. "I wish that there was some ancient voodoo magic that you could perform to fix this mess."

"You're upset so I won't take that insult to my profession personally," Pete said. He held his arms out in front of him. Addison looked confused. "It's not some voodoo tradition," Pete said. "You need a hug."

"I do need a hug," Addison admitted. Pete moved closer to Addison and stretched his arms out further. Addison rested her head against Pete's strong chest and listened to the comforting sound of his heartbeat. She allowed Pete to wrap his arms around her and hold her.

"You're shaking," Pete said, concerned. He ran his fingers gently through Addison's soft auburn hair and massaged her scalp soothingly. He could hear her rapid breathing starting to slow as she finally began to relax. Addison closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Pete, pulling him close to her. In that moment she felt safe.

"Maya's out of surgery," Cooper said. Pete and Addison hadn't noticed him approaching them. Addison withdrew from Pete's embrace.

"Thank God. How is she?" she asked.

"She's stable. They had to drill burr holes to evacuate the bleed on her brain. There were no complications during the surgery. She's in ICU for now so that they can keep a close watch on her. You can see her." Addison and Pete followed Cooper back into the hospital. When they reached the elevator, Pete noticed that Addison's hands were trembling again. He took her hand in his. Addison didn't object.

When they reached Maya's room at ICU Addison stopped short outside.

"You coming in?" Cooper asked. Addison nodded.

"Just give me a moment," she said, her voice unsteady. Violet, who had been sitting by Maya's bedside, spotted her friends at the door and approached them.

"It's okay," Violet said softly to Addison. "She's being looked after. Come on." She took Addison's other hand and led her into the room.

If Addison hadn't been told that the girl lying on the bed in front of her was Maya, she never would have guessed who it was. Maya's luscious black locks were gone, replaced by a thick white bandage wrapped tightly around her swollen head. She had a tube down her throat to help her breathe. One arm was covered by a plaster cast and the other was covered in large purple bruises. Addison felt as though her legs were going to give way beneath her. Violet seemed to sense this and led her over to the chair at Maya's bedside. She rested her hands on Addison's shoulders, encouraging her to sit down. Addison took a seat and took Maya's hand in hers.

"They expect her to wake up some time tomorrow," Violet said. Addison nodded, trying desperately in her mind to look for the positives in this situation. The only consolation for her at that moment was that Maya wasn't dead.

"I wanna stay with her," Addison said.

"You need to get some rest, Addison," Cooper said, stepping in. "They can look after her here." Addison shook her head defiantly.

"I'm not going anywhere. I don't care if they threaten to throw me out."

"I'll stay as well," Pete volunteered. "I'll make sure that they don't throw her out."

"Well we can't all stay," Cooper said. "I'm gonna head home and get a few hours sleep. I'll be back soon and we can figure out how to tell Naomi and Sam."

"I'll go too," Violet said. She put her arm around Addison. "If you need anything I want you to call me, okay?" Addison nodded.

"Thanks for everything," she said appreciatively to Cooper and Violet.

"That's what friends are for," Cooper replied with a little smile.

"You don't have to stay," Addison said to Pete after Cooper and Violet had left. "I'm not exactly the best company at the moment."

"Better than no company," Pete said. He went to a nearby linen closet and took a blanket out. He moved another chair next to Addison's and sat down. Pete threw the blanket over Addison and pulled her close so that she was resting against him. "Try to get some sleep," he whispered. "I won't take my eyes off Maya. I promise." Addison felt herself start to relax and gently closed her eyes.

&&&

A few hours later, Addison woke up to find herself lying across the two chairs. It took her a moment to remember where she was. She sat up with a jolt and saw that Maya hadn't moved. She picked up Maya's patient chart and began reading the nurse's observations. There had been no change in her condition. She was still classed as stable.

Addison smelt the aroma of strong coffee and turned around to see Pete approaching her with two cups of coffee from the hospital cafeteria.

"Thank you," Addison said appreciatively as Pete handed her a coffee. "Did you sleep at all?" Pete shook his head.

"Sleeping is overrated."

"Spoken like a true doctor." Addison's phone began to ring from inside her handbag.

"Naomi," Addison and Pete said at the same time. Addison reached for her handbag and frantically searched through it for her phone. Pete watched as Addison finally found the phone and just as she picked it up it stopped ringing. Then another noise came from the phone.

"You have one new voice mail," Addison read from the screen. She dialed the number of her voice mail and listened. Pete leaned forward to hear what was being said. It was Naomi.

"Good morning, beautiful girls. I bet you're having a lazy sleep in while I've been working. I'm just calling to let you know that Sam's having a crisis with one of his patients back in LA so we've had to switch to an earlier flight. We're boarding now so, Addie, can you please pick me up from the airport at 11:15am and bring me home? Okay, they're making me turn my phone off now so I've gotta go. See you both soon. Love you."

Addison and Pete looked at each other with dread.

"Shit," Addison said to herself. Right on cue, Cooper and Violet arrived at Maya's room.

"Sam called me ten minutes ago," Cooper stammered. "He wanted me to make sure the practice was set up for his return THIS MORNING."

"We just heard," Pete said.

"I knew we should have called them last night," Addison said. "Now Naomi's gonna kill me and make them bring me back just so that she can kill me again."

"We'll figure it out," Violet said calmly, trying to be the voice of reason. "I'll figure something out… okay… Cooper and I will meet them at the airport and we'll tell Naomi and Sam there."

"We will?" Cooper asked, scared.

"I should be the one to do it," Addison spoke up.

"No," Violet contended. "Give them time to process it first. Trust me."

"Okay, you're the shrink. This is your area," Addison said. They all fell silent and watched Maya, wondering how they were all going to survive the day ahead.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for the reviews. Please keep them coming.

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Two hours later Cooper and Violet were at the airport waiting for Naomi and Sam, although they would have given anything to have been somewhere else.

"Stop fidgeting!" Violet snapped at Cooper who could not keep still.

"It's not too late to get out of this, you know," Cooper suggested nervously. Violet looked at him confused. "We could just leave and Addison and Pete can deal with it."

"Cooper, they're our friends," Violet said. "This is what friends do." Cooper didn't look convinced.

"We haven't known Addison that long… I mean if you really think about it-"

"Cooper," Violet warned. She knew that he really did care but his nerves were getting the better of him. Cooper hated confrontation, as demonstrated by his various internet conquests.

"There they are," Cooper said apprehensively. Naomi and Sam emerged from the terminal looking carefree and relaxed.

"Come on," Violet said, taking Cooper by the arm and heading over to them.

"Hey!" Naomi said happily when she saw Violet and Cooper. "I didn't expect to see you here!" She gave Violet a hug.

"I don't think I've ever seen Cooper on a Sunday," Sam joked.

"Where are Addison and Maya?" Naomi asked, looking around.

"That's why we're here," Violet said gently.

"What've they done now?" Sam joked. Violet and Cooper didn't laugh.

"Do you wanna come sit down with us?" Violet asked seriously. Naomi immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked, her tone changing dramatically. Sam locked eyes with Cooper who quickly looked away.

"Naomi, let's sit down," Violet said gently, in the voice that Naomi knew she reserved for her patients.

"What's happened?" Naomi asked, fearing the worst. Violet looked at Cooper pleadingly.

"Let's just sit down and talk," he chimed in.

"No," Naomi said sternly, almost shouting. "I will not sit down. Tell me where they are."

"Well?" Sam asked.

"There was an accident," Cooper said.

"Oh my God," Naomi exclaimed, fearing the worst.

"How are they?" Sam asked, trying to keep his emotions under control, his heart pounding.

"Addison wasn't involved. She's sitting with Maya at the hospital," Violet explained.

"Maya was in a car accident. She had a bleed on her brain which they were able to evacuate through surgery last night," Cooper continued. "She's in ICU and she's still unconscious but she's stable now. The doctors are happy with her progress. The boy in the car with her died at the scene" This was too much for Naomi to take in. She looked as though she was about to collapse. Violet and Cooper lead Naomi and Sam over to the nearby lounge and sat them down.

"What do you mean Addison wasn't involved?" Naomi finally managed to say. "Where was she?"

"Maya lied to her," Violet explained. "Addison dropped her off at the cinema and she ended up at a party with a boy. We still don't know all the details."

"I need to see Maya," Naomi said between clenched teeth. The shock seemed to have worn off. She was now seething with anger. Sam still looked shell shocked. He couldn't speak.

"Let's go," Cooper said.

&&&

They drove to the hospital in silence. Sam and Naomi sat in the back seat holding hands.

"Brace yourself," Cooper whispered to Violet as they entered the hospital. Cooper and Violet walked ahead of Naomi and Sam to give Addison some warning.

Addison's heart sank when she saw Naomi and Sam's terrified faces behind Violet and Cooper as they entered Maya's room.

"Baby!" Naomi exclaimed tearfully, her voice cracking with emotion as she laid eyes on her unconscious daughter. She rushed to Maya's bedside and smothered her with kisses.

"Sweetheart," Sam said, gently taking Maya's broken arm in his. Naomi burst into tears.

"How did this happen?" she asked.

"The car was speeding in the rain…" Pete started.

"She's thirteen!" Sam snapped angrily. "What the hell was she doing in the car with a boy at a party?" Addison went to speak up but Pete had it covered.

"She said that she was going to the movies, that you let her go," he said.

"Teenagers lie!" Naomi yelled, making everyone in the room jump. Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks as she locked eyes with Addison. "It's our job to keep them safe! I never let Maya go to the movies at night. If you had bothered to check with me you would know that!" Addison didn't know what to say. Pete had picked up Maya's patient chart and was checking over it.

"Are these times right?" he asked. Everybody nodded. Sam turned to Addison.

"You spoke to Naomi after this had happened," he said to Addison in disbelief. "How could you not mention this? How could you not call us and let us know that our daughter was having brain surgery? That we should get on the next plane in case she never wakes up? You're unbelievable." Addison didn't have any excuses. She knew that Sam was right. She slowly walked over to where Naomi was. Naomi was watching Maya with tears streaming down her face. Her hands were trembling. Addison couldn't tell whether it was from shock or anger or both.

"I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am, Nay," Addison said softly. Naomi didn't say anything. "Nay?" Addison rested her hands gently on Naomi's shoulders and tried to pull her into a hug. Suddenly something within Naomi snapped. She spun around and with more force and viciousness than she knew possible; she slapped Addison hard across the face.

"Don't you dare touch me," she shouted. "Don't talk to me, don't even look at me. I don't want you anywhere near her. You've done enough." Addison took a step back, the stinging sensation on her cheek, failing to dissipate. She turned to Sam.

"Sam, I-"

"I can't look at you," Sam said, shaking his head. "Get out." Addison slowly backed out of the room. Pete went to follow her.

"Don't," Violet said, stopping him. "Give her some space. Naomi and Sam need us here."

&&&

An hour later, after they had consulted with Maya's doctors and determined that she would not need any more surgery, Naomi and Sam had calmed considerably. They sat by their daughter's side, willing her to wake up. Cooper and Violet had gone to the practice in an attempt to take care of the matter which had caused Naomi and Sam to return home early. Pete had started to drive back to his house but he couldn't get Addison out of his mind. He did a U turn and drove toward her house.

When he reached Addison's house, Pete was surprised to see three suitcases outside the front door. He went into the unlocked house and found Addison in her bedroom frantically packing.

"What's this all about?" Pete asked Addison.

"I'm leaving," Addison announced as she packed. She didn't look at Pete.

"Addie," Pete said gently. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous," Addison said. "What I did can't be forgiven. Naomi and Sam were all I had in LA. So I have to go somewhere else so that they can live in peace."

"Where would you go?" Pete asked. Addison shrugged as she tried to stuff her shoe collection into a suitcase.

"I don't know. Back to Seattle or New York maybe?"

"You're not going anywhere," Pete said. "Naomi and Sam reacted on the spur of the moment and that's exactly what you're doing now. The Addison that I know doesn't just give up and run away." Addison stopped for a moment.

"Well I don't know what else to do," she confessed.

"How about you stick around and fight? I wish that I was half as close to somebody as you are to Naomi and Sam."

"Was," Addison corrected him.

"Whatever," Pete said. "The point is that you can't throw away all that history. You'll regret it for the rest of your life." Addison knew that Pete was right. "Now start unpacking. I'll run you a bath and you can try to calm down, okay?"


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you once again for the lovely feedback. Please continue to let me know what you think. I've now changed my settings so that anyone can leave anonymous reviews.

**CHAPTER SIX**

Pete managed to get Addison to stop packing and sit on the couch.

"Naomi has quite an arm on her," he said as he examined the purple bruise on Addison's cheekbone. "I'll get something to make the swelling go down a bit." Pete went to Addison's freezer. The only suitable thing that he could find was a bag of frozen peas. "This will have to do," he said. Addison laughed as he pressed the frozen peas to her cheek. Pete smiled. He was relieved to see Addison crack a smile. "You've been through hell," he said.

"Well they don't call me Satan for nothing," Addison said, only half joking. She sighed. "Tell me what to do," she said to Pete.

"Well, only you know how to save your friendship," Pete said gently.

"No," Addison corrected him. "I know how to sabotage a friendship. Hurting people close to me seems to come naturally."

"You're way too hard on yourself," Pete said. "If you could only see how wonderful you are…" his voice trailed off as Addison looked at him curiously. He felt his cheeks begin to blush.

"You think I'm wonderful?" Addison asked, surprised at Pete's revelation. Pete looked embarrassed.

"Keep the peas on your cheek," he ordered, changing the subject. "Doctor's orders."

&&&

"How is she?" Sam asked Naomi as he entered Maya's room holding a tray of food from the hospital cafeteria. He placed it on a nearby table.

"No change," Naomi said sadly. She hadn't left Maya's side all morning. Maya had showed some improvement earlier and the doctor had removed the breathing tube from her throat but she was still unconscious.

"You should try and eat something," Sam said gently. Naomi shook her head, refusing to take her eyes away from their daughter. Sam went over to Naomi and stood behind her. "She won't get any worse if you take care of yourself, Naomi." Naomi shook her head again. Sam placed his hands on his ex wife's shoulders and massaged them deeply. Naomi moaned softly as the tension that had built up in her neck and shoulders began to release. "Getting yourself into a state isn't going to help Maya," Sam said. "When she wakes up she's going to be scared and confused. She needs to see her parents calm and in control." Naomi closed her eyes and leant back against Sam. His strong hands massaged her shoulders deeper and worked their way her neck.

"Now I know why they call you Doctor Feelgood," Naomi moaned.

"You always knew why," Sam said cheekily. Naomi managed a little smile, as did Sam, for the first time since they had heard about Maya's accident. Sam worked his hands up Naomi's neck and onto her scalp, applying just the right amount of pressure. Naomi exhaled deeply. She kicked off her shoes and leant further into Sam as he made deep circles with his fingers on the sensitive areas of her scalp.

"Mommy?" Naomi stood up suddenly as soon as she heard this and rushed to her daughter's side.

"Maya? Baby?" Maya's eyes were still closed. "Did you just hear that?" Naomi asked Sam. Sam nodded.

"We need her doctor," Sam shouted out to one of the available nurses. "She's waking up."

"Maya, honey, can you hear me? It's Mom and Dad. We're right here, baby." Naomi was holding Maya's hand, willing her to open her eyes. Maya mumbled something inaudibly. She lifted one arm up in front of her face and moved her head from side to side.

"Stay still, sweetheart," Sam said softly. He gently held Maya's head still so that she couldn't move it. He leaned over and whispered into his daughter's ear. "You've been an accident, baby, but you're okay now. Everything's gonna be okay. Your daddy's here and he's not gonna let anything happen to you. You're safe. Now you've been asleep for a little while so things might feel a little fuzzy but that's okay. It's normal. When you're ready you just open your eyes and we'll be right here, sweetheart." Naomi watched on anxiously. Maya made a coughing noise and her eyes began twitching.

"She's waking up!" Naomi said, giving Maya's hand a squeeze, her eyes filling with tears. Slowly, Maya opened her eyes. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked around confused. She heard the sound of the machines around her and realised suddenly that she was in a hospital.

"Help!" She cried, trying to sit up.

"Stay still baby, it's okay," Sam said, reassuringly. "You're in hospital but you're safe. Everything's going to be fine." Maya was breathing rapidly. She looked into her father's deep, calming eyes and felt slightly comforted. She laid back and tried to relax. She'd always hated hospitals.

"Hi, baby," Naomi said, tears falling down her cheeks. Maya held her mother's trembling hand. At that moment she was the one doing the comforting.

"What happened?" Maya finally managed to ask, just as her doctor walked in.

"Hi, Maya," Doctor Michael Hughes said with a smile as he entered her room. "It's great to finally see you awake! I'm just gonna shine this torch into your eyes, okay?" Maya nodded weakly. "That's wonderful," Doctor Hughes said. "Now I need you to follow my finger with your eyes." Maya did as she was told. "This is looking very promising."

"She doesn't remember what happened," Naomi said nervously.

"That's to be expected after brain surgery," Doctor Hughes explained. "The brain's not used to this kind of trauma; it takes a while to bounce back. She mightn't ever remember the accident at all."

"Brain surgery?" Maya asked, scared. "Accident? What happened to me?"

"You were in a car accident, honey," Sam explained. "You had a bleed on your brain so they had to open you up and fix it. You also broke your arm. That's why it's in a cast." Maya suddenly remembered what Sam's post operative neurological patients looked like when they came into her parents' practice. She reached for the back of her head. She quickly realised that all of her hair was gone. Her eyes widened in horror.

"My hair!" she cried out. "Momma, they took my hair!" Maya cried.

"I know baby, they had to. It'll grow back," Naomi said, comforting her daughter.

"Teenage girls," Doctor Hughes said to Sam, bemused. "You save their life and all they can worry about is their hair."

"I'm sorry," Sam said, embarrassed.

"Don't be," Doctor Hughes reassured him. "I see it all the time. It's a big part of their identity at that age. Now, Maya, honey," Doctor Hughes said, speaking up. "I know you've only just woken up but we have to take you for some scans and get some pictures of your brain now that you're awake, okay?" Maya nodded. "We're gonna take her for an MRI," Doctor Hughes told Naomi and Sam. "Why don't you two take a break, go for a walk or a drive and get some fresh air. You've been through a lot."

&&&

Naomi and Sam walked into the Oceanside Wellness Clinic, just down the road, looking exhausted and yet relieved.

"Hey!" Violet said, from Dell's desk. "I didn't expect to see you here. How's Maya?"

"She's awake and talking," Naomi said, managing a small smile. "They're taking her for an MRI now."

"That's wonderful," Violet said. "Cooper's just finishing up on your job, Sam, and I'm gonna stick around and get ahead with this paperwork. I'm rescheduling your appointments so that you can spend as much time as possible with Maya."

"Thank you, Violet" Sam said appreciatively. "Well just be in my office."

Sam led Naomi to his office and closed the door behind them. Naomi sat on the couch.

"Thank the Lord," she said.

"I know," Sam, added, sitting beside her. "I've never been so scared in all my life. The thought of losing Maya… God, I don't even wanna think about it." He put his head in his hands. "I hate feeling that powerless."

"Me too," Naomi agreed. She leant her exhausted body against Sam's. On instinct Sam turned his head and kissed his ex wife on the cheek. Naomi turned and gave him a certain look that he had once been very familiar with. She moved her face close to his.

"Naomi…" Sam started. He was cut off when she kissed him passionately on the lips. He didn't object, his tongue finding it's way into her mouth. "We said we weren't going to do this any more," he whispered.

"Our baby's in the hospital," Naomi said.

"Exactly,"

"I'm wound up. I need sex, comfort sex." Naomi unbuttoned Sam's shirt.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Do you or do you not want to have sex with me?" Naomi asked breathlessly. Sam answered her with another passionate kiss as their entwined bodies sunk into the couch.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN **

Violet heard faint murmuring from Dell's desk where she was updating patient files at the computer. She looked up at Sam's office. She couldn't imagine going though what Naomi and Sam had been though. Suddenly the murmuring became louder and there was the sound of something, or someone, hitting the wall.

"Oh my God," she said to herself, figuring out what was going on. Embarrassed, she left Dell's desk and walked in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Cooper said happily as he left his office and spotted Violet in the hall. "I heard Naomi and Sam!'

"So did I," Violet said, blushing.

"I'm gonna go say hi," Cooper said.

"No!" Violet shouted, stopping him in his tracks. "You don't wanna do that."

"Why not?" Cooper asked, puzzled.

"We all deal with things in different ways," Naomi started. "And the way that they are dealing with this is not healthy in any way."

"What do you mean… oh!" Cooper said realising. He started to laugh. "Good on them. Hey, whatever gets you through. Who are we to judge?" Violet shook her head.

"Naomi was getting herself together and now she's taken about twenty five steps in the wrong direction. I'm the one who's gonna have to deal with this."

&&&

"Oh my God," Naomi said, breathlessly from where she was laying on the cough. "I needed that. Thank you."

"No, thank you," Sam said as he was getting dressed again. His mobile phone began to ring. "Okay… yes, thank you. We'll be there soon." He finished the call. "That was Doctor Hughes. They wanna talk to us." Naomi quickly dressed herself and they carefully exited Sam's office.

"Bye Violet, bye Cooper!" Naomi called out as they left.

"Bye!" Violet and Cooper waved back.

"Yep, they so did it," Cooper said when they were gone.

&&&

Naomi and Sam rushed back to Maya's room to find Maya gone and Doctor Hughes standing there alone. Naomi gasped.

"Good news," Doctor Hughes said. "Maya's scans showed that she has no residual damage from the injury or the surgery. We've moved her to the pediatrics ward where she's settling in now. "Your daughter is going to make a full recovery." Naomi and Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," Sam said, gratefully. They walked down the hall towards the elevator and saw Addison turn the corner.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Naomi said as Addison walked towards them.

"Naomi, I-" Addison started, trying to stop them.

"What part of stay the hell away don't you understand?" Naomi said with cold anger. "I said that I don't want you anywhere near me or my child and I meant it."

"Naomi!" Addison protested as Naomi tried to walk past her. She stood in her path. Naomi looked up at Addison and noticed the purple bruise from where she had hit her earlier and the tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry for everything. Please, we need to talk." Naomi looked at the floor.

"I'm going to see my daughter," she said. She stepped around Addison and walked away, Sam following her path. They got into the elevator and waited as it descended to the pediatrics ward.

"Don't you think that you should at least talk to her?" Sam asked as the elevator doors closed.

"Whose side are you on?" Naomi asked, accusingly. "Look at where our daughter is now! We never should have left her with Addison."

"You and I both know that Addison loves Maya," Sam said calmly. "And we both know that she wouldn't put Maya in harms way. I think that you should at least talk to her and see what she has to say before you throw away your friendship." Naomi didn't reply. The elevator doors opened and Sam and Naomi stepped onto the Pediatrics ward.

"Ruby?" Naomi asked as she saw a girl standing in the hall that she recognised as Maya's friend.

"Oh hi," Ruby said shyly. She had been wary of Sam and Naomi ever since her ectopic pregnancy. "I'm here to see Maya."

"I don't know if she's up for visitors yet," Naomi said protectively.

"Ruby, do you know what exactly happened? We've only spoken to doctors at this stage," Sam asked. Ruby looked away shyly. "I think that you should tell us what you know and then maybe you can see Maya." Ruby nodded, shyly. Sam gestured over to some chairs and they all sat down.

"Apparently Maya had a boyfriend?" Sam asked. Ruby nodded.

"Well she did…"

"But he died in the accident?" Naomi asked.

Ruby shook her head. "That was another guy. I was talking to some friends who were at that party. She had only just met him." Naomi and Sam looked confused.

"Maya wanted to go to this party and she knew that you would never let her go and she knew that Addison would never let her go. So she said that she was meeting some girlfriends at the cinema when they were really just going to this party. She wanted to go to see her boyfriend who went to another school."

"Went?" Sam asked. Ruby nodded.

"He broke up with her at the party. She was really upset and then this other guy started chatting her up. She got in the car with him. He told his friends that he was taking her to a motel… but they crashed on the way there."

"So she didn't know the driver of the car?" Naomi asked.

"They'd only met at the party," Ruby said.

"I didn't even know that Maya had a boyfriend," Naomi confessed. "She used to tell me everything."

"She thought that you'd say she was too young and-"

"She is too young!" Sam protested.

"That's why she didn't tell you," Ruby said. "She didn't tell Addison either because she thought she'd go straight to you after last time." Naomi and Sam sat there dumbfounded. "Can I see Maya now?" Ruby asked.

"I think that we need some time alone with our daughter," Sam said. "Maybe you should come back another day." Ruby nodded sadly and left.

"I can't believe that we never knew about any of this. I can't believe that she snuck around like that!" Naomi said to Sam.

&&&

Pete sat in his car and watched Addison walk over to it despondently.

"No luck?" he asked as she got in the passenger side.

"No," Addison replied with a sigh. "She still hates me."

"She's angry. It won't last forever," Pete said reassuringly.

"Oh I think that it will," Addison corrected him. She turned and looked at Pete. "Anyway, don't you have somewhere to be other than driving me around?"

"Nothing that can't wait," Pete said with a little smile. For a moment they looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Anyway…." They said at the same time, embarrassed.

"I'll take you home," Pete said.

"And I'll… uh… go… home… alone," Addison said, blushing.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Naomi sat by her sleeping daughter's bedside. Maya hasn't been awake for long but her exhausted body was trying to heal from the injures inflicted upon it.

"How did we get to this, baby?" Naomi asked softly, holding Maya's hand in hers. It seemed like yesterday that her daughter was in nappies and taking her first steps and now she had a boyfriend and was lying and sneaking around under the noses of those who loved her the most. Naomi looked over at Sam who was standing by the window, numbly looking at the traffic below and wondering the same thing.

"I need to go for a drive," Naomi said, in the strongest voice she could muster. Sam nodded.

"I'll stay here," he said. Naomi stood up and Sam sat in her seat, taking Maya's hand in his.

"I'll be back soon," Naomi said.

"It's okay, take your time," Sam said softly. "I'll call you if anything changes." Naomi smiled gratefully and left Maya's room.

As Naomi walked to her car, tears started streaming down her face. She wiped them away in defiance but they kept coming. As she made her way through the congested LA traffic, she had never felt more helpless and alone.

Naomi, almost absent mindedly, drove to the place she always went when she was troubled: Addison's house. She parked outside the house and sat in her car, trying to calm down but the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

Giving into her emotions, Naomi got out of the car and walked to Addison's door. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. She didn't have any more energy left to be stubborn. It seemed like an eternity before the door finally opened. Addison appeared and to Naomi's surprise, she didn't look angry. She looked concerned to see her usually calm and collected best friend so distraught.

"I should have known," Naomi said, her voice racked with emotion. "I should have known what she was doing. I shouldn't have worked so much. I should have paid more attention to her. I should have been a better mother." Addison took a step towards Naomi and pulled her into a hug. Naomi didn't resist.

"It's not your fault," Addison said, soothingly. "None of this is your fault." Naomi sobbed harder as she allowed herself to rest in her best friend's arms. "Let's go inside," Addison said. Naomi nodded as Addison took her hand and led her into the house.

"I can't believe my daughter's in the hospital," Naomi continued tearfully as the walked through Addison's house, clearly overwhelmed by the whole situation.

"I know," Addison said. "I can't believe it either." When they reached the kitchen, Addison sat Naomi on a stool and switched the coffee machine on. She handed Naomi a box of tissues that was half empty from wiping away her own tears. Naomi made use of the tissues and took a few deep breaths. She looked up at Addison.

"I'm sorry," she said, exhausted.

"Don't worry about it," Addison said, dismissively.

"No. I said some horrible things," Naomi said, stubbornly.

"You were upset, understandably," Addison replied. Naomi shook her head.

"I still shouldn't have said them. You had no more control over the situation than I would've had." Addison didn't say anything. She knew deep down that Naomi was right. "You know I still think you'd make an amazing mother," Naomi said. This hit Addison close to home. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked away, trying to hide her emotion. "I know you're thinking about adoption. I saw you looking through the case files. I hope that this doesn't affect your decision."

"Your crying is contagious," Addison said, starting to cry herself. They looked at each other and laughed. Naomi stretched her arms out and Addison went over to her. They embraced again.

"I love you, Nay," Addison said.

"I love you too," Naomi replied. They pulled apart.

"Well that was something straight outa a Hallmark movie," Addison said, trying to make light of the situation. She took a tissue and blew her nose. Naomi giggled a little. She looked at where she had hit Addison earlier, concerned. "Nothing a bit of Max Factor won't hide," Addison said, hoping that Naomi wouldn't feel guilty. She went back to the coffee machine and made them a latte each.

"I slept with Sam," Naomi suddenly blurted out, when Addison had her back to her. Addison spun around, her mouth open.

"Naomi!" she exclaimed.

"I know! I have no self control," Naomi said, as Addison handed her a latte. "It was comfort sex."

"It's always comfort sex," Addison mused. Naomi started to blush. "Admit it. You're hot for him again." Naomi shrugged.

"As if you're not hot for Pete." Addison's eyes widened in panic. Naomi looked confused. Suddenly Pete stepped out from behind a wall.

"Hi," he said, shyly. "I was waiting for the right time… you know… when all the crying was over. I'm just gonna go." He slinked out the door. This time it was Addison's turn to blush.

"Something you wanna tell me?" Naomi asked.

"No!" Addison said defensively. "Pete has been a very good friend."

"Right," Naomi said, sipping her latte. "And you don't want him at all."

"I never said I didn't," Addison said, cheekily.

&&&

"Daddy?" Maya asked, stirring awake.

"I'm here, sweetheart," Sam said as his daughter readjusted to her surroundings. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore…" she moaned. Sam nodded.

"It's almost time for your medication," he said gently. Maya looked into her father's eyes.

"Has… has anyone come to see me? Has he…" her voice trailed off. Sam shook his head. Maya's eyes filled with tears.

"He told me that he loved me," she said, starting to cry. Sam sat on Maya's bed.

"That boy's not worth your tears, Maya," he said softly. "One day, when you're ready, you're gonna meet a man who will respect you and honour you and love you for who you are. You can't force it to happen but it will happen, I promise. And you should never settle for anything less. You're too good for that, okay?" Maya looked up at Sam. "I'm not just saying that because I'm your father either. You're so special." He kissed Maya on the hand. Maya wiped her eyes.

"I want to see Addison," she said.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for the reviews

Thank you for the reviews. I really appreciate them. Sorry that I haven't updated this in a little while. Please read and review.

**CHAPTER NINE**

"I hate dating," Addison said glumly from the kitchen as she poured a glass of wine for herself and Naomi, who was sitting on the couch in the living room. "It's so awkward. I can't believe I ever thought it was fun when I was younger. Now I hate all the chasing around… and when you're older there's so much baggage… I mean I'm not one to talk. I'm divorced, I forgot to have kids. But Pete has a dead wife. I mean that's big. That's more baggage than I have and I don't know whether I should bring it up or what… I mean, how do you bring up something like that? It's like this huge elephant in the room." Addison went into the living room with the wine and saw that Naomi hadn't heard a word that she'd said. She was snuggled up on the couch exhausted and fast asleep. Addison took a blanket and gently draped it over her best friend. She sat on the couch opposite Naomi and proceeded to drink both glasses of wine.

"Violet," Cooper said, knocking on the door of her office. "You can't stay in here forever."

"I can and I will," Violet replied. Cooper opened the door to where Violet was lying on the couch usually reserved for her patients. Cooper went into Violet's office and sat in the chair that Violet usually sat in when consulting her patients.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't take the awkwardness," Violet said, frustrated.

"What awkwardness?" Cooper asked. "It's just you and me here."

"No," Violent said, annoyed. "Between Naomi and Sam."

"There didn't seem to be much awkwardness before," Cooper joked.

"It was comfort sex, Cooper," Violet snapped. "Soon they're both gonna be so embarrassed that it's gonna go back to exactly how it was when they divorced. Awkward silences, fighting, taking sides, everyone else caught in the middle."

"And hiding in your office like an agoraphobic person is going to help the situation how exactly?" Cooper asked.

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Violet confessed. Cooper laughed. Violet threw a cushion at him. They heard a voice through the intercom.

"Special delivery," a man said. Violet stood up.

"Look, I'm leaving the office," Violet said to Cooper who laughed. She opened the door and went into the foyer where a delivery man was holding a vase full of fresh flowers.

"These are for Addison Montgomery's office," he said. "He wants them on her desk so that they're the first thing she sees in the morning." Violet signed the delivery form and read the card aloud.

"Dear Addison. Despite the circumstances, I really enjoyed spending time with you this weekend. I can't get you out of my head. Please join me for dinner tonight. Pete."

"Oh great," Violet said, taking the flowers into Addison's office.

"What?" Cooper asked, unable to withhold his laugher at his friend's exasperation.

"They're doing it too."

"What?" Cooper asked. "When would they find the time for that? Remember what happened to Maya? When would they find the time, Violet?

"Oh there's always time," Violet replied. "Naomi and Sam demonstrated that very clearly just before. "There's always time." Pete laughed.

"You're just angry that you're not getting any," he said. Violet glared at him. "Well it's true," he said. "Naomi and Sam, Addison and Pete… There was a momentary pause. "We're alone in an empty office with a comfy couch…" Pete said." You wanna?" Violet's eyes widened.

"NO!" she shouted.

"I was kidding," Pete said quickly, trying to make amends. "Violet, I was sooo kidding!"

An hour later, a well rested Naomi, accompanied by Addison knocked on Maya's hospital room door. Sam sighed with relief to see them together.

"I'm glad you could sort it out," he said. He gave Maya a kiss on the forehead before leaving Naomi and Addison alone with her. Addison blinked away tears as she fixed her eyes on Maya.

"It's so good to see you awake," she said, her voice trembling. Maya held her arms out for a hug, the way that she did when she was little. Addison leaned over and held her tightly. "I don't know what I would have done if we lost you," she said. "You scared me more than I've ever been scared in my life." Addison sat on the side of Maya's bed, with her arm around her, while Naomi sat on the other side of her bed. Maya looked up at Addison.

"I'm really sorry aunty Addison," she said. "I'm sorry that I lied to you and I'm sorry that mommy almost killed you." Addison managed a smile.

"You're forgiven, baby," she said. "I think you're paying a high enough price recovering from brain surgery. Most teenagers who sneak around just get grounded."

"Which you will be when you get out," Naomi said. Maya looked guilty. She turned back to Addison. "I heard how you stayed out all night looking for me, how you went driving and came across the accident. You were here the whole time. That makes me feel loved."

"You are loved," Addison said, kissing Maya on the cheek. "You're naughty but you're so loved and I'd do it all again a heartbeat."

Naomi smiled as she watched Addison and Maya interact. She knew that Addison would make an amazing mother. Naomi and Sam even had Addison as Maya's next of kin in their wills. If anything was to ever happen to them, Addison would get custody of their daughter. That was a slight possibility though and Naomi knew that Addison deserved to be a mother. She thought of some contacts that she had and vowed to make some phone calls.

"Hey, man," Sam said to Pete as he went into the offices of Oceanside Wellness Group. "I didn't expect to see you here on a Sunday."

"I could say the same for you," Pete replied. "How's Maya?"

"She's improving nicely," Sam said, walking towards Addison's office doorway where Pete had been standing. Sam peered into the office and saw a vase of flowers sitting in the middle of the table.

"Why are you staring at a vase of flowers?" Sam asked Pete.

"Are they positioned in the center of the table?" Pete asked. "I need them in the center."

"Yeah they are…" Sam said, giving Pete a weird look. "So, you've taken up interior decorating," Sam said. "I'm cool with that."

"I have not," Pete snapped. Sam went over to the flowers and took the greeting card.

"You messed up the lilies!" Pete said, rushing over to them.

"Do you still like women?" Sam joked. Pete sighed.

"I just want these to be perfect for Addison," he said. "I know what not to do when dating a woman and I want to do it right. I want to make it perfect."

"Right down to the flower arrangement in the exact center of the table," Sam observed.

"That's right."


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you to the people who have reviewed this fic. I'm sorry about a few typos in the last update where I got Pete and Cooper's names mixed up. I was very tired and I think it showed! Anyway, please continue to read and review. I love hearing what you think.

**CHAPTER TEN**

The next morning, Addison snuck into Maya's hospital room before work.

"Hey baby," she said with a smile, glad to see that Maya was looking well. Maya smiled back.

"Hey," she replied.

"I have to go to work," Addison said, picking up Maya's patient chart that monitored her progress and casting a watchful eye over it before placing it back down. "But I brought you some things to entertain you." Maya's eyes lit up. Addison handed Maya a bag that was filled with magazines and a couple of teenage fiction novels.

"Cool!" Maya said, flicking through a fashion magazine. "Mom and Dad only brought me school work."

"Yes well if you don't do your school work I'm taking the magazines back," Addison said with a smile. "I only just got back into your mother's good books." Addison checked over shoulder to make sure that Naomi definitely wasn't there before taking a chocolate bar out of her handbag.

"I didn't give you this," she said quietly, handing the chocolate bar to Maya. "If anyone asks, it was the nurse." Maya giggled. Addison leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back after work, sweetheart" she said.

"Bye," Maya said happily, going back to her magazine.

xxx

Violet entered the kitchen at the practice where Naomi was making coffee.

"How's Maya?" she asked.

"She's doing well," Naomi said, sounding relieved.

"And how are you?" Violet asked in her psychiatrist voice.

"I'm good," Naomi said, taking a sip of her coffee. She suddenly looked embarrassed. Violet looked over her shoulder and saw Sam standing in the doorway of the kitchen looking equally embarrassed to see Naomi, the memories of their comfort sex the day before coming back to haunt them.

"Hi," Naomi said, flustered, forgetting that Violet was in the room.

"Hi," Sam replied, blushing.

"How are you?" Naomi asked, awkwardly, as though it was a business meeting.

"Good," Sam answered nervously, looking at the floor. "And how are you?"

"Good," Naomi replied. Sam went into the kitchen towards the coffee maker. He accidentally brushed up against Naomi as he did this.

"Sorry," he said, embarrassed and blushing even more.

"It's fine," Naomi said, looking even more embarrassed. "I have to…go do this… thing," she said, rushing out of the room quickly. Violet looked at Sam questioningly. He looked as though he wanted to crawl inside the coffee machine and disappear.

Violet marched into Cooper's office, unannounced, going straight over to his side of the desk. Cooper, who was using the internet, looked shocked to see Violet.

"Haven't you heard of knocking!" he said accusingly, covering the computer monitor with his arms. Violet looked at him for a moment.

"I don't even wanna know what you're looking at," she said, shaking her head and looking away as Cooper exited whatever it was that he had been looking at on the screen.

"What did you want to see me about?" Cooper asked, pretending that the events of the last minute hadn't happened.

"The awkwardness," Violet said, crossing her arms. "I told you that there would be awkwardness between Naomi and Sam and sure enough there is and it's going to affect us all. There should be a law against comfort sex."

"Do you want to have lunch in here today until it blows over?" Cooper asked.

"Yes please," Violet replied, gratefully.

Xxx

"Sorry I'm late," Addison said, rushing out of the elevator, flustered.

"The hospital just called," Dell said from the reception desk. Their obstetrician has a case of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome and asked for a consult with you as soon as possible."

"Seriously?" Addison asked, intrigued by a difficult surgical case in her specialty and relishing the chance to show off her surgical skills in California. Dell nodded.

"Can you please cancel my appointments?" Addison asked Dell. "I'll head over there now."

"Sure," Dell said, bringing up Addison's appointments on the computer. "Oh, Addison, you have a special delivery in your office," he called after her.

"Can you take care of it?" Addison said, stepping back in to the elevator. "I'll get to it later."

"No problem," Dell replied.

After Dell rescheduled Addison's appointments for the day he went into her office and picked the flowers up from the table. He filled a glass vase with fresh water and placed the flowers on Addison's desk.

About half an hour later, Pete, after making a house call, arrived back at the practice. He knocked on Addison's office door and when she didn't answer, he opened it. She wasn't there but he noticed that the flowers had been moved to her desk and placed in fresh water. He was glad to see that she liked them.

"What are you smiling about?" Sam asked as Pete passed him on his way to his own office.

"Just my hot date tonight," Pete replied with a cocky smile. When he reached his office, Pete picked up the phone and dialed Addison's cell phone. There was no answer so he decided to leave a voicemail.

"Hey," he said in a smoldering voice. "I'm glad you liked them. I see you're playing hide and seek. Come and find me when you're ready. I'm waiting." He ended the call and smiled to himself.

A few hours and three patients later, Pete went back to Addison's office and saw that she still wasn't there.

"Where's Addison?" he asked Dell.

"She had a consult at the hospital," Dell answered, going back to his paperwork. Pete looked disappointed and headed back to his office. He dialed Addison's cell phone and was again greeted by her voicemail.

"Just letting you know that I've made reservations at Momos, the Italian place, for seven. I'll see you then," he said into the phone.

Xxx

Later that afternoon, Naomi managed to escape from the practice to visit Maya in the hospital. She greeted Maya with a big hug.

"I feel so guilty working when you're here," she admitted to her daughter.

"It's fine, Mom," Maya replied. "I feel better when you're not stressing out over me."

"I'm your mother. It's my job," Naomi said, taking a blanket from the draw and draping it over Maya. "I should take the rest of the day off."

"Stop fussing," Maya complained. "Aunty Addison!" she said with a smile, looking towards the doorway. Naomi turned around and saw Addison standing there, dressed in scrubs and looking pale and shell-shocked.

"Hey," Addison said, obviously distressed.

"Maya, honey just stay here," Naomi said. "I'll be back soon.'

"Where am I gonna go?" Maya asked, sarcastically. Naomi stepped into the hall where Addison looked close to tears.

"What's wrong?" Naomi asked Addison, concerned.

"There was this twin to twin transfusion syndrome case," Addison said, her lip quivering.

"I know. Dell told me," Naomi said. "What happened?" She feared that she already knew the answer.

"We lost both the twins in surgery," Addison said, her voice shaking. "The doctors didn't pick it up early enough and by the time it got to me they…" her voice trailed off. "And I just had to tell a mother that her babies are dead." Naomi pulled Addison into a hug. She knew how horrible it was.

"I thought it must have been bad news," Naomi said. "I tried calling you but all I got was your voicemail."

"I haven't even had a chance to check my phone," Addison said, wiping her eyes.

"You look exhausted," Naomi said. "Are you finished here?" Addison nodded.

"Her babies are dead. There's not much more I can do," she said sadly.

"It's not your fault, Addie," Naomi said sympathetically. "You know that. Now I want you to go home and run yourself a hot bath. I'll come over tonight with a bottle of wine, okay?"

"Thanks, Nay," Addison said appreciatively.


	11. Chapter 11

I haven't been updating this fic as much as my other fics because it doesn't seem to have as much of a following

I haven't been updating this fic as much as my other fics because it doesn't seem to have as much of a following. So please review for me so I at least know that people are reading it. Thank you to those who have been reviewing.

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Addison drove home from the hospital upset and exhausted. She had gone into the practice at the start of the day thinking that things had started to fall into place again but by the end of the day she was miserable, having been faced with telling an expectant mother that her babies had died. It was one part of the job that Addison had never got used to. She always kept on her professional front for her patients but long, ultimately futile surgery always left her feeling gutted. Addison heard her cell phone ring as she drove. There was no where to pull over and answer it so she turned her music up and ignored it. By the time that she reached her house she had forgotten that her phone had even rang.

"Goddammit," Pete said, annoyed when Addison didn't answer her cell phone. He'd really wanted to hear her voice before their date. Pete was nervous about a formal dinner date but knew that once he saw Addison everything would be fine. Pete knocked on the door to Cooper's office, hoping that he wasn't in consultation with a patient.

"Come in," Cooper said. Pete opened the door to find that Cooper was not with a patient. Violet was sprawled our casually on the couch in his office.

"See, Pete knows how to knock," Cooper said to Violet who rolled her eyes.

"Well if you weren't talking dirty with sexyasswhatever or looking up porn in your office it wouldn't be an issue."

"Its common courtesy to knock," Cooper challenged her. Pete cleared his throat, interrupting their little argument. "What can I do for you?" Cooper asked him.

"Have either of you see Addison?" Pete asked. They shook their heads.

"She got called into the hospital this morning," Violet said. "I haven't seen her since."

"Why don't you call her?" Cooper suggested.

"Good idea," Pete said, not wanting to admit that he had been trying to call her all day.

"Did she like the flowers?" Violet asked.

"Yeah," Pete said with a little smile, remembering seeing them in a fresh vase on Addison's desk. "We're going to dinner tonight."

"Oh how nice," Violet said, overenthusiastically. Pete looked at her oddly.

"Well, I'm gonna head off," Pete said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye," Violet said.

"Have fun," Cooper said with a wink.

As soon as Pete closed the door, Violet sat up straight.

"Did he have to rub it in our faces like that?" she asked. Cooper looked at her oddly.

"He was just looking for Addison," he said. "What's the big deal?"

"Everyone's sleeping together," Violet said as though it was a crime. "And I'm the shrink so they're gonna come to me when they realize what a big stupid mistake they're making." Cooper laughed to himself.

"I don't think that Pete and Addison are sleeping together," he said. "Besides, you're just jealous because you're not getting laid." Violet threw a cushion at Cooper's head. "If you don't wanna do it with me there's always Dell," Cooper teased, prompting Violet to throw another cushion at him.

Xxx

"How's my girl?" Sam asked, as he went into Maya's hospital room. Despite Maya's protests, Naomi had ended up staying with her for the afternoon.

"They want to get her out of bed tomorrow," Naomi said. "It's too early." Maya rolled her eyes.

"It's standard procedure," Sam said. "It's good to get the patients moving as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Maya said to Sam. He knew that Naomi had good intentions but it had left Maya feeling suffocated.

"Can you just look over her chart?" Naomi asked Sam.

"Fine," Sam said, knowing that the doctors knew what they were doing but wanting to calm Naomi. "Why don't you go home? I want some time with Maya."

"Okay," Naomi said, planting a kiss on Maya's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby. I'll call later in the night." As Naomi stood up she went to step around Sam who tried to step around her at the same time. They ended up face to face.

"Sorry," they said at the same time, blushing. Naomi nervously stepped around Sam and exited Maya's room hastily. Sam turned to his daughter who was giving him a strange look.

"What was that all about?" Maya asked.

"Nothing," Sam answered. Maya looked skeptical.

"Are you two getting back together?" she asked.

"No, honey… it's… I can't have this conversation with you, sorry. Everything's fine. I promise."

Xxx

Naomi rang the doorbell at Addison's house. Addison, looking exhausted and dressed in a robe after a long, relaxing bath answered the door.

"Hey," Naomi said, giving her best friend a smile and holding up some brown shopping bags. "I have Chinese food, good wine and trashy DVDs." Addison managed a smile and hugged Naomi before helping her with the shopping bags.

"How are you feeling?" Naomi asked Addison.

"The bath helped," Addison replied. "I know I shouldn't react like this to my work," she said, slightly embarrassed. "I should be used to it."

"Babies dying in the mother's womb on the operating table is never something that you should get used to," Naomi replied. "And if you did ever get used to it I'd be concerned. Besides, Doctor Addison Montgomery isn't used to having a bad outcome."

"Thanks, Nay," Addison said gratefully, taking in her best friend's words of wisdom. "Thank you for being here. I didn't want to be alone tonight." Naomi gave her hand a supportive squeeze.

"How's Maya?" Addison asked, changing the subject.

"She thinks I'm being overbearing," Naomi said, picking at her rice.

"Are you?" Addison asked. Naomi sighed.

"I guess maybe a little," she admitted. "But she's my daughter. What am I supposed to do? Leave her in a hospital with a bunch of strangers?"

"Highly trained medical professionals who have her best interests at heart?" Addison asked. Naomi sighed, knowing that Addison had a point.

"I just don't want to go home to an empty house knowing that she's not there," Naomi said sadly.

"I know," Addison said, sympathetically.

"Maybe I should call Sam and –"

"Make things even more awkward between you?" Addison asked. "Do you really want comfort sex?" Naomi looked up at her. "Okay, don't answer that," Addison said, already knowing the answer. "Of course you want it. What I mean is do you really want all the awkwardness and nervousness that comes afterwards?"

"No," Naomi said sighing.

"Right, so I'm protecting you from your own actions," Addison said. "The bed in the spare room is already made up. You can stay here tonight. That way you're not alone in an empty house and you wont become blinded by lust for your ex husband and sneak out." Naomi laughed at the thought of being locked up to stay away from Sam. Addison found herself laughing at the same thought.

Xxx

Pete looked at his watch. Addison was now eighty minutes late. He had arrived at the restaurant on time with a fresh bunch of flowers for her. He had found a table and waited nervously as other couples met up inside and enjoyed their meals. As the minutes passed he found himself sinking lower and lower into his seat. He tried calling Addison's cell phone once more before he left but again there was no answer. Angry and disappointed, Pete left the restaurant without eating and threw the flowers in a nearby garbage bin as he headed back to his car.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Naomi was awakened by a noise from outside. She sat up, taking a moment to remember where she was; the spare room at Addison's house. Naomi creeped out of the room quietly and looked out of the window in time to see Sam get out of his car and walk into the house. Naomi kept watching as he turned the lights on, took his shirt off and picked up some weights. For a moment Naomi considered going back to bed but Sam doing chin ups in full view was too much to take. Naomi opened the front door quietly but not quietly enough to stop Addison hearing.

"You have no self control," Addison shouted out from her bedroom. Naomi giggled to herself.

"I'm just going over to talk."

"Yeah right," Addison said. "You two are like a couple of horny teenagers." Naomi giggled and went outside, closing the door behind her. From his vantage point, Sam smiled to himself knowing that his little show had worked. Sure enough, a few moments later he heard a knock at the door.

"Oh hey," he said, feigning surprise.

"How's Maya?" Naomi asked. "You were at the hospital late."

"I waited until she fell asleep," Sam replied. "She's doing well."

"That's good," Naomi said, closing the door behind her and staring at Sam's bare chest.

"Do you want a drink?" Sam asked.

"No," Naomi replied.

"Me neither."

Naomi and Sam were both thinking the same thing. They lunged forward towards each other and kissed passionately, undressing each other on their way to the bedroom.

Xxxxx

The next morning Addison promised herself that it was going to be a better day. _How many more days of bad luck could I possibly have? _She thought to herself as she strode confidently into the building. She spotted Pete up ahead. Addison smiled to herself, thinking that her day was improving already.

"Pete!" Addison called after him. He didn't seem to hear her. He stepped into the elevator. "Hold the elevator!" Addison shouted to Pete. He definitely heard her this time because he turned and looked her straight in the eye, glaring and letting the elevator doors close.

"What the…?" Addison asked herself, confused by Pete's bizarre behaviour. She turned around to make sure that Pete wasn't aiming his death stare at somebody else but there was no body else around and he had been glaring straight at her. When the elevator finally opened again, Addison stepped in.

"Hold the elevator!" Naomi shouted out, running across the ground floor. Addison held the elevator doors open until Naomi stepped in. She looked flustered.

"Big night?" Addison asked with a cheeky smile.

"I hardly got any sleep," Naomi said, yawning.

"I bet," Addison replied, starting to giggle.

"Shut up," Naomi said, giggling as well. They went into the conference room for their morning meeting.

Sam was pretending to be busy with some paperwork, ignoring Naomi and Addison as they took their seats.

"Hi Sam," Addison said with a cheeky smile. "Have a nice night?" Sam dropped the pile of paper that he was shuffling onto the ground when he heard Addison's question.

"Yes," he said quietly from under the table, clearly embarrassed.

"Stop it," Naomi said to Addison.

"I get my thrills where I can," Addison replied. "Are you okay, Violet?" Addison asked their resident psychiatrist who was sitting across from the table looking angry.

"I'm fine," Violet said moodily. She turned to Cooper who took a seat beside her.

"We work in a whorehouse!" she whispered angrily to him. Cooper tried to stifle his laughter as Pete entered the room.

"Oooh someone's not happy," Cooper teased. Pete glared at him and took his seat at the table as far away from Addison as possible. This didn't go unnoticed by the other staff members.

"So are you gonna tell us what happened?" Cooper asked.

"Nothing happened," said under his breath.

"Couldn't perform, buddy?" Cooper asked sympathetically.

"Cooper!" Violet said, hitting him on the arm. "Leave him alone."

"It happens to the best of us. It doesn't make you any less of a man." Pete glared at Cooper.

"I was stood up," he said under his breath.

"Who stood you up?" Addison asked. She didn't know that Pete had been seeing anyone. She could have sworn that he had been taking an interest in her. Pete glared at Addison again. "Sorry I asked," Addison said, looking away. "Someone's cranky today," she muttered to Naomi.

"Okay we need to start this meeting," Sam said, standing up at the head of the table. Addison didn't hear a word of what he said after that. She was too busy staring at Pete, trying to figure him out. A few minutes before the meeting ended, Pete stood up and left the room. He looked as though he was heading towards Addison's office but Addison couldn't see from where she was sitting. She leaned back in her chair, trying to get a better look at what Pete was doing but ended up leaning too far back, the chair tipping backwards, sending Addison back with it.

"Oh my God!" Naomi said, trying to help Addison up. Violet looked up from her side of the table and just saw Addison's legs in the air.

"You need better chairs, Sam," Addison said, embarrassed and flustered as she regained her composure and sat back down.

When the meeting was over, Addison sheepishly made her way back to her office, still embarrassed from falling backwards off of her chair. There was no sign of Pete. If she hadn't fallen over she would have noticed Pete take the flowers from her office and throw them in the bin near Dell's desk. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Addison who hadn't seen the flowers in the first place. Addison assumed that she'd been seeing things earlier. Why would Pete go into her office?

Xxx

"Hey, Pete, we're getting take out," Sam said as Pete started to leave the office.

"I'm going out," Pete said sternly, getting into the elevator just before Addison left her office and joined the others for lunch.

"Where's Pete?" Addison asked Violet.

"He's eating somewhere else," Violet answered.

"You should have seen the way he was looking at me this morning," Addison said. "It was so cold and angry. You'd think that I was the one who stood him up." Violet looked at Addison, unable to believe her ignorance.

"Addison, you did stand him up," Violet said.

"I did not!" Addison said defensively. "I made plans with Naomi last night."

"You definitely stood him up," Dell said, picking up the flowers from the bin next to his desk. He held out the card to Addison who was confused by the whole situation. She took the card from Dell and opened it, reading its contents.

"These were delivered to your office," Dell informed Addison. "But you never made it to your office yesterday."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Addison asked, outraged.

"I thought you knew!" Dell said defensively. "Pete was bragging about his hot date all day and kept calling you so I figured you knew about it."

_My cell! _Addison thought to herself. She went into her office and rummaged through her handbag until she found it. She opened it up and found seven missed calls, all from Pete. Addison listened to each voice mail message, feeling more and more guilty with every message.

**Thoughts?**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

Addison rushed back into the kitchen. She pulled Naomi and Violet away from their lunch and took them into her office.

"I was enjoying my sushi!" Violet protested. "Now Cooper's gonna finish it off," she said glumly.

"This is an emergency," Addison said, closing the door behind her. She turned the volume on her cell up and played Pete's messages. "What do I do?" Addison asked when the messages had stopped playing.

"Put out?" Naomi suggested. Addison glared at her. "I'm just saying. You messed up."

"But it wasn't deliberate!" Addison shouted, exasperated. "Things were going so well and now he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Violet said. "He thinks that you stood him up. Imagine how you'd feel if he stood you up."

"He has stood me up," Addison said remembering.

"Right, so you know how it feels," Violet said. "You need to set him straight and show him that you're still interested in him… if you are interested in him."

"Oh she's interested in him," Naomi chimed in.

"Then what?" Addison asked Violet. Violet shrugged.

"I'm a psychiatrist. I'm not a love doctor, God knows."

"Okay," Addison said with bravado, dialing Pete's number. "I'm going to call him right now and tell him how I feel."

"Not over the phone!" Naomi said. "That's so impersonal."

"Naomi's right," Violet added. "You need to tell him in person."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Violet knocked on the door to Cooper's office after everybody had finished eating lunch.

"Hidden all your porn?" she teased.

"Funny," Cooper replied sarcastically. Violet opened the door and sat down on the couch in Cooper's office, holding a bar of chocolate.

"You're gonna regret it later," Cooper warned as Violet took a bite of the chocolate. "You always regret it later."

"I hate being alone," Violet confessed. Naomi's got Sam, Addison wants Pete… I have no one.

"You have me," Cooper said, going around to where Violet was. "I already made you an offer," he joked. For a moment Violet locked eyes with Cooper. She leaned forward as though she was about to kiss him but at the last minute she pulled away.

"I can't do it," she said. "It's too weird." Violet and Cooper burst out laughing.

"There's someone out there for you, I promise," Cooper said, trying to cheer Violet up. "I'm pretty sure that I'm not your knight in shining amour but he's out there somewhere, and if you look too hard you'll probably miss him. In the meantime, just enjoy not being tied down." Violet smiled a little. It was something that she'd needed to hear. She gave Cooper a hug and stood up.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"Any time," Cooper replied. "Hey, are you gonna still eat that chocolate?"

"Are you insane?" Violet asked, shocked that Cooper would even ask her to give it up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey Princess," Sam said as he and Naomi went into Maya's hospital room.

"Hi," Maya replied. She studied her parents for a moment. "You two look… different."

"No we don't," Naomi cut in, perhaps too quickly.

"Nothing's different," Sam added.

"What's going on?" Maya asked.

"Nothing's different!" Naomi said, louder than she meant to. Maya didn't look convinced. "Anyway," Naomi said, lowering her tone, "we're here to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Bored out of my mind," Maya said, rolling her eyes. "The doctor says I can go home at the end of the week though."

"That's great news," Sam said with a smile.

"It'll be great to have you home," Naomi added.

"It's gotta be better than being here 24/7…"

Naomi had stopped paying attention to what Maya was saying, distracted by a magazine sitting on her bedside table.

"What is this?" she asked, holding the magazine.

"It's a fashion magazine. Addison bought it in for me. Please don't yell at her."

"What is THIS?" Naomi asked, more specifically, noticing a 'sealed section' of the magazine.

"It's a thing on sexual positions, Mom, but I swear I didn't read it. Look, it's still sealed. There's no way I could have seen it. I was just looking at the clothes."

"Well, I think I'm going to take this anyway," Naomi said, tearing the sealed section out of the magazine and stuffing it in her handbag. "Why they put these things in magazines targeted at teenage girls I'll never know. It's like they want them to be promiscuous."

"Mom, I told you. I didn't even read it!" Maya protested.

"Okay let's calm down," Sam said. "Maya, honey, I know you're bored and it must be driving you crazy. How about I bring some DVDs over after work this afternoon? You write me a list and I'll rent them out for you." Maya smiled.

"Thanks, daddy."

When the visit was over, Naomi and Sam drove back to the practice.

"You so took that sealed section of the magazine for yourself," Sam teased.

"I did not!" Naomi replied defensively. "Okay… maybe I am a little curious about what people are doing these days but it's not something that Maya should be exposed to."

"So… what are people doing these days?" Sam asked, trying not to sound as curious as he really was. Naomi pulled the little booklet out of the magazine and broke the seal.

"Oh my," she said, studying a diagram.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Addison managed to get through her patient consult with full focus, her mind hardly ever wandering to Pete… until she heard his voice talking to Dell outside. As soon as she was finished with her patient, Addison went looking for Pete.

"He's in his office," Dell called out. "His next appointment isn't for another ten minutes."

Addison took a deep breath and marched over to Pete's office. Before she could wimp out, Addison opened the door, went into the office and locked the door behind her.

"What the hell?" Pete asked from his desk, looking pissed off.

"You're going to listen to me so don't you dare move," Addison threatened. "Okay… that sounded kinda aggressive. I'm sorry…" she added awkwardly. "But," she said, finding her bravado again. "You shouldn't have been so cold towards me. I was at the hospital all day yesterday dealing with two dead babies and a devastated mother. I didn't have time to even look at my phone. I didn't even know that we had a date, okay? Dell took care of the flowers. I didn't even get to my office. And quite frankly if I had known, it would have made my day a whole lot better because I would love nothing more than to go on a date with you." Pete didn't say anything. He wanted for Addison to continue. "That's it…" Addison said after an awkward silence. "That's all I had to say." There was another awkward silence. "Okay, come on Pete, say something," Addison said, starting to feel embarrassed.

"Tonight, 8:00pm at Momos," Pete finally said. "Don't be late."

"I will see you then," Addison said with a smile. She went to open the door but had forgotten that she'd locked it.

"You… uh…" Pete started.

"Yeah, I know," Addison said, embarrassed that she couldn't make the dramatic exit that she'd wanted.

**Thoughts?**


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you to the people who have reviewed for me. I really appreciate it. Reviews keep me motivated to write more so please let me know what you think.

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

"How do I look?" Addison asked, parading her chosen outfit for Naomi. After they had finished work for the day, the two women had gone to visit Maya in the hospital and had then rushed back to Addison's place so that she could get ready for her date with Pete. Naomi made a face at Addison's outfit.

"What?" Addison asked.

"You kinda look like a hooker," Naomi replied.

"I do not!" Addison protested.

"Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear or the truth?" Naomi asked. Addison sighed. "I'm sorry, Addie, but that whole outfit just reeks of desperation and you're better than that."

"I'll find something else then," Addison muttered going back into her bedroom. When she returned to the living room wearing a new outfit, Naomi made another face.

"What?" Addison asked, indignantly. Naomi made a face. "Just tell me," Addison said.

"Why have you covered up so much?" Naomi asked.

"Because you said that I looked like a hooker!" Addison protested.

"I didn't mean it like that," Naomi said.

"I'm sorry but how am I supposed to interpret the fact that I look like a hooker?" Addison asked irritably.

"Well I didn't mean cover up every inch of skin so that Pete can see only your fingernails and your face," Naomi said. "Just… be yourself." Addison sighed again and went back to her bedroom. When she returned for the third time, Naomi was impressed.

"Wow," Naomi said with a smile. "That's the one." Addison was dressed in a knee length black strappy v neck dress with a split that showed just a hint of thigh." She had accessorized the dress with delicate diamond encrusted jewelry. "You look amazing, Addie."

"Thank God," Addison replied. "I was starting to think I'd have to cancel. Now come and help me pick out some shoes to wear." Naomi stood up but as she did she knocked her handbag over. The sealed section of the magazine that Naomi had taken from Maya fell to the floor.

"What the hell is that?" Addison asked. Naomi gasped as she realized what had happened.

"It's nothing," she stammered, trying to hide the magazine but Addison beat her to it.

"Oooh, Naomi!" Addison teased, holding the booklet up out of Naomi's reach and examining its contents. "Thirty ways to make him-"

"It's not mine!" Naomi interrupted.

"Then why are certain pages marked with those pink post its that only you use?" Addison asked. Naomi was so embarrassed that she didn't know where to look. Addison flicked to one page that Naomi had marked. "Wow, I didn't know you were so flexible, Nay," Addison said. "I'm kinda jealous."

"Fine," Naomi sighed, giving up. "Maybe I want to inject a bit of excitement into my life. What's wrong with that?"

"There is nothing wrong with that," Addison said, handing it back to Naomi. "I'm impressed, that's all. Just don't throw that little magazine away. I might wanna borrow it some time." Naomi laughed as they went to Addison's closet.

"I was thinking of wearing these," Addison said, pulling out a pair of black sling backs and holding them out to Naomi.

"Am I the only one who remembers what happened the last time you wore those shoes?" Naomi asked. "You were in so much pain that you had to take them off and you had blisters for weeks." Addison looked at the shoes sadly. She did remember.

"But they're so pretty," Addison said.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Naomi replied.

"It'll be fine," Addison said. "It's just dinner. It's not like we're going hiking or anything."

An hour later Addison was ready to leave.

"You look beautiful," Naomi said. "Have fun." Addison smiled nervously. "I'm just gonna hang around here for a bit longer," Naomi added.

"Have fun with Sam," Addison replied knowingly, winking at Naomi and heading out the door. Naomi waited until Addison had driven away before she crept outside and over to the house next door. She rang the doorbell.

"Hey," Sam said as she opened the door. He was bare-chested and sweaty after his workout. "Did you bring the magazine?" Naomi held the magazine up as Sam leaned forward and kissed her passionately. Naomi kissed back, running her hands along Sam's bare skin. They left a trail of clothes as they made their way to the bedroom.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Oh come on," Addison said to herself as she searched desperately for a parking space at the restaurant that Pete had mentioned. The parking lot was full, as were all of the parking spaces along the side of the road. Addison was forced to park two blocks away. She wasn't going to be late, she was sure of that, having left much earlier than she had to so as to not keep Pete waiting. Addison looked down at the shoes that she was wearing, Naomi's warning echoing in her mind. "Here goes nothing," she said to herself, beginning the trek to the restaurant.

Meanwhile, outside the restaurant, Pete waited for Addison to show up. He was ten minutes early and he silently prayed that she wouldn't stand him up again. Knowing that Addison had not deliberately stood him up had mended his wounded ego a little, although he had refrained from buying her flowers this time just in case he had to make the lonely walk back to his car in full view of happy couples. All of a sudden, Pete heard something.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" the voice exclaimed.

"Addison?" Pete asked, looking down the footpath and seeing her stumbling ungracefully towards him. "Are you okay?" he asked, taking her by the arm.

"Hi," Addison said with a smile. "I'm early!"

"I see that," Pete said. "But you look like you're in a lot of pain."

"Oh no, it's fine," Addison lied. "Ow!" She shouted out as she tried to take another step.

"No, you're not," Pete said, concerned. "Did you twist your ankle or something?"

"No," Addison replied. "These shoes just hurt my feet."

"Then why are you wearing them?" Pete asked. Addison looked at Pete as though he was from Mars. "You obviously don't understand how women think," she said. Addison tried to take another step but was in too much pain. She sighed and took the shoes off.

"I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go barefoot," she said.

"You're right," Pete said, watching Addison struggle with her shoes. "I don't understand how women think. Shall we?" Addison sheepishly allowed Pete to take her hand in his, her other hand holding on to her shoes as they went into the restaurant.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Thank you for letting me know what you think. It helps me when I write the next chapter and encourages me to update quicker so place keep your reviews coming.

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

Addison and Pete walked into the restaurant arm in arm. Addison's bare feet drew a few stares from other guests at the restaurant but Addison didn't feel the least bit self conscious. She was unable to take her eyes off Pete who looked incredibly handsome in his dark jeans, grey shirt and black leather jacket. He had that rugged look about him that made Addison weak at the knees. As they took their seats, Pete looked into her eyes, causing her heart to flutter.

"What?" Pete asked. "Are you okay?" Addison smiled.

"I'm great," she said honestly. "I couldn't be better actually." She scanned the menu.

"So what's good here?"

"I've only been here once," Pete replied. "I was thinking I'd try the spaghetti bolognaise. I hear it's good."

"Sounds good to me," Addison said, noticing that the women around her were unhappily picking at their salads. "If I ever turn into one of those carb counting LA women please shoot me," she said to Pete who laughed.

"Gladly," Pete replied, taking note of all of the unhappy and malnourished women surrounding them. Pete and Addison placed their orders and the waiter brought over a bottle of sparkling champagne that Pete had previously ordered.

"You look beautiful tonight," Pete said, watching Addison. He was surprised at himself for being so forward but it seemed to just spill out.

"So do you," Addison replied, momentarily mesmerized by the way that Pete looked at her. "I mean… handsome… you look very… nice. Sorry, I'm kinda nervous." Addison took a big gulp of her champagne, hoping that it would calm her a little. "It's just that if you knew my track record with men you'd be nervous as well. Okay that came out wrong. You shouldn't be scared of me or anything. It's not like I'm this crazy whore or an adulterous- well actually…" Pete raised his eyebrows. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Addison stammered, managing to save herself from more embarrassment. "Just… stay there," she said as she rushed off.

xxxxxxx

"Please explain again why we're doing this," Violet asked Cooper from their table in the same restaurant as Addison and Pete. Their table was situated inconspicuously behind a decorative plant, out of Addison and Pete's line of vision.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you had other plans," Cooper replied, making fun of Violet who glared at him.

"You know that's a sensitive part of my life and yet you just keep prodding away!" Violet accused him.

"I'm sorry," Cooper said with puppy eyes. "We are here to satisfy our voyeuristic curiosity. Will they hit it off? Wont they? Will what they tell us tomorrow be the truth? Will they make fools out of themselves?"

"You're a lonely, old, deviant," Violet said to Cooper.

"Yes, but I'm your lonely, old deviant and you love me," Cooper replied with a smile as Violet scanned the menu. "I already ordered the spaghetti bolognese for us," he added.

"I don't even get to choose what I eat?" Violet asked, annoyed.

"Trust me, you'll love it," Cooper replied.

xxxxxxx

Addison rushed into the bathrooms and pulled her cell phone out of her handbag. She dialed Naomi's number.

"Hey Addie," Naomi said picking up the phone after many rings.

"Finally!" Addison said.

"What's wrong?" Naomi asked. "How's the date going?"

"Good… I think," Addison replied. "Well… kinda…every time he looks at me I feel like I'm gonna go to pieces or something. I just start talking and talking and my feet hurt and I almost started talking about Derek but I came here and-"

"Just calm down," Naomi said soothingly. "Everything's gonna be fine."

"Why do you sound so relaxed?" Addison asked. "Ahhh," she said realizing. "I'll let you get back to Sam." Naomi giggled as Addison hung up the phone. She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror, vowing not to react so obviously the next time that Pete looked at her with his mesmerizing brown eyes.

Addison made her way back to the table, not even noticing Violet and Cooper as she walked straight past them back to Pete. When she sat down, Pete reached across the table took her hand in his gently.

"I've been looking forward to spending time with you," Pete said with a little smile. "I didn't know if this would ever happen."

"Well it's happening," Addison replied with a smile. Pete leaned forward across the table. Addison did the same and their lips softly brushed together. Addison felt her blood pumping through her and her body begin to feel warmer as she kissed Pete, only realizing in that moment how much she had been longing for it.

"Excuse me, dinner is served," their waiter said, clearing his throat. Addison and Pete sat back in their chairs, slightly red faced as the waiter placed two enormous plates of spaghetti in front of them.

"That was incredible," Pete blurted out. Addison laughed at his frankness. "And this is the biggest plate of spaghetti I've seen in my life."

"That it is," Addison agreed. "It looks like we're gonna be here all night."

"Just stop eating when you're full," Pete said, twirling the spaghetti around on his fork.

"Cant do that," Addison replied, doing the same. Pete looked confused. "I didn't have a lot growing up," Addison explained as they started eating. "So I have this thing about food going to waste. I can't stand it. I have to finish what's on my plate."

"Is that why you always finish Naomi's lunch when she doesn't?" Pete asked with a little smile.

"Precisely," Addison replied.

"Wow, I just thought you just really loved food," Pete laughed.

"Yes, that too," Addison said. They laughed.

xxxxxxx

"Well they certainly seem to be hitting it off," Cooper observed from his table with Violet. "What?" he asked, noticing her watching Pete and Addison.

"Okay, I admit it. They're kinda cute together," Violet conceded as the waiter brought their dinner over to them. Two enormous bowls of spaghetti.

"Come to papa!" Cooper said, excitedly as the meal was placed in front of them.

"Whoa," Violet said, wondering how she was going to get through the enormous meal. She looked back over at Pete and Addison and smiled a little as she watched them talk and laugh together. She was happy for them.

xxxxxxx

Naomi looked over at Sam who had fallen asleep. She sat up, ready to get her things and go back to Addison's house but she didn't want to leave Sam's side. It was a longing that she hadn't felt in a long time. It stretched beyond mere physical attraction and into something much deeper. Naomi gave in to her feelings and snuggled back under the covers beside Sam. Sam stirred slightly as he felt her beside him. He stretched out his arm and pulled Naomi close to him, breathing in her scent and falling into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Please review

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

Forty minutes later, after an evening of laughter and light conversation, Addison looked up from her dinner and noticed that Pete was sweating profusely.  
"Oh my God, Pete, are you okay?" she asked, concerned, wondering what was wrong with him. She didn't think that the food was _that _spicy.  
"I'm fine," Pete replied. "Okay, I'm not," he admitted after a moment. "I'll be right back." Pete rushed off to the men's room leaving a worried Addison sitting at the table. She shrugged and went back to eating her spaghetti.

"And he's outa there!" Cooper exclaimed from the table that he was sharing with Violet from across the restaurant. "I knew it!" he said with a pump of the fist.  
"That's weird," Violet said, puzzled. "They looked like they were having a great time... and if anyone was gonna bail my money was on Addison."  
"Well if there's one word to describe Pete its 'unpredictable,'" Cooper said.  
"You should go and see if he's okay," Violet said. "Be a good friend."  
"Then he'll know that we're spying on him," Cooper replied. Violet gave Cooper an unimpressed look. "Fine," Cooper said, throwing his arms up in mock protest. "But if he asks I'm telling him that it was all your idea."  
"That's not fair!" Violet protested.  
"Life's not fair, Violet," Cooper replied. Violet threw her bread roll at him. Cooper threw it back.  
"Honestly, Cooper, you're like a child," Violet said. "Just go and see if Pete's okay... and then come back and tell me what you find out." Cooper laughed at Violet but did as he was told. He went into the men's bathrooms. He heard the sound of vomiting from one of the cubicles.  
"Not a great way to promote your restaurant," he muttered under his breath. "Uh... are you okay in there?" he asked, awkwardly. The door opened and Pete stepped out looking extremely pale and sweating even more than he had been before. "Whoa, Pete, you look like you're dying!" Cooper exclaimed.  
"I feel like I'm dying," Pete moaned. "What are you doing here?" Cooper chose to ignore the question.  
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.  
"I don't know," Pete answered. "I was fine and now I feel like... oh God." Pete went back into the stall and vomited again. Cooper made a face. Suddenly he was overcome with a wave of nausea himself. Usually somebody getting sick didn't affect him. He was a doctor after all. He was used to vomiting. Cooper took a deep breath.  
"Be a man," he told himself. It didn't work. Cooper found himself in the stall next to Pete throwing up as well.

Addison checked her watch. Pete had been gone for fifteen minutes and she was starting to worry. Fighting the fear that he had snuck out the back door to get away from her, Addison headed towards the men's bathrooms. She figured she'd call out to him and if he didn't reply she would make a dignified exit. As she passed a large, decorative plant, Addison noticed familiar brown curls poking up over a menu where someone was either hiding or extremely long sighed.  
"Violet?" she asked. The curls disappeared behind the menu as Violet slinked down into her seat. "Violet?" Addison asked again. Violet disappeared further behind the menu. Addison went over to the table and pulled the menu away.  
"Oh hey!" Violet said with a grin. "I didn't know that you were here!"  
"Yes you did," Addison replied. "I've been talking non stop about my date with Pete all day."  
"Oh, so you did," Violet said. "I... uh... well, I have a date as well."  
"Oh really?" Addison asked, her face lighting up as she smiled.  
"Yeah," Violet replied, going along with the story that she had fabricated. "It was sort of a last minute thing, you know?"  
"Good for you!" Addison replied. "Who's the lucky guy?" Violet hadn't thought that far ahead.  
"Um... uh... Co... Cooper," she stammered. Addison raised her eyebrows.  
"Really?" she said, surprised.  
"Mmm hmm," Violet said, nodding and feeling herself going red in the face.  
"Well... that's great," Addison said with a smile. "And so totally unexpected but good for you!" Violet didn't reply.  
"Violet?" Addison asked. "You look a little..."  
"Huh?" Violet asked, feeling extremely sick all of a sudden.  
"Violet?" Addison asked again, concerned. "Are you feeling okay?"  
"Yeah... I uh... just..." Violet mumbled faintly. "Actually... I uh... I don't feel so..." Violet stopped as she appeared to faint for a brief moment.  
"Whoa!" Addison said, rushing over to Violet and catching her just before she fell off her chair. "Violet, you're looking really pale," Addison said. "And your skin's all clammy."

"I'm gonna be sick," Violet said, her eyes widening as she ran into the ladies' bathrooms leaving Addison standing alone in the restaurant in a situation that she had not predicted at all.

Finally the doors to the men's bathroom opened and Pete and Cooper staggered out, holding each other up for support.

"What the hell?" Addison asked when she saw them. They both looked terrible.

"I think something's wrong with the spaghetti," Pete stammered.

"I feel fine," Addison said.

"I don't," Violet moaned as she stumbled out of the bathrooms and joined them in the restaurant. "I need to get out of here."

"Let's go then," Addison replied.

"No," Pete murmured, sounding terrible. "It's our date."

"I think our date's over," Addison said. "Come on. You're obviously not well. Let's go." Addison went back to the table and picked up her blister creating shoes. She paid for dinner and led Pete, Cooper and Violet out of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry," Pete said, glumly as they walked down the street.

"It's not your fault," Addison replied. She was a little disappointed that the date hadn't ended on the romantic note that she had hoped, but at the same time she was worried about her friends. It wasn't Pete's fault that they had all come down sick and Addison hated that he was feeling guilty about it.

As they made their way back to her car, each of them too sick to drive, Addison couldn't help but giggle to herself at the way they must have looked to others. Addison was walking barefoot and limping from the damage that her shoes had done to her feet, Pete, Cooper and Violet were staging behind her looking pale and ghastly. Anyone would think that they'd been partying a little too hard. When they reached the car Addison helped Violet and Pete into the back seat.

"I know you're sick and it's not your fault but if you could all refrain from throwing up on the leather I'd really appreciate it," she said as she helped Cooper into the car.

"Oh no," Cooper said, leaning out of the car to throw up, missing the leather but destroying the shoes that Addison was holding in the process.

"I'm sorry," Cooper moaned, seeing what he'd done.

"It's fine," Addison said with a fake smile as Cooper leaned back in the seat. "It's not like I could walk in them anyway." Addison threw the shoes in a nearby trash can and got into the driver's seat.

Fifteen minutes later, Naomi and Sam woke up to headlights shining through Sam's bedroom window.

"What's going on? Naomi moaned, sleepily as they heard noise from outside.

"I don't know," Sam said, rubbing his eyes. The doorbell rang.

"It's probably Addison," Naomi said, quickly dressing herself and heading to the front door.

Naomi opened the front door and her jaw dropped in shock when she saw the sick state that Pete, Cooper and Violet were in.

"We have a situation," Addison said, standing behind them just in case they fainted.

"Come in," Naomi said, worried, ushering her ill colleagues through he front door.

"Food poisoning," Pete muttered.

"I think so," Violet said, looking over them.

"Well I feel fine," Addison argued. "I ate the same thing. I don't think its food poisoning."

"Your time will come, don't you worry," Naomi said, knowingly. "You have approximatley twenty four hours for it to kick in."


	17. Chapter 17

I'm sorry for the gap between these updates

I'm sorry for the gap between these updates. Uni's been so crazy but I've finally found some time to write. Please review for me as it keeps me motivated.

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

"Cooper, you need to stay hydrated," Naomi said, pushing a glass of water towards him as he laid down on the sofa. Sam's living room had been turned into a makeshift hospital.

"Nooo," Cooper moaned in response.

"He always turns into a baby when he's sick," Violet said.

"And you always turn into a bitter-"

"That's enough," Naomi interrupted. "I know that you both feel terrible but attacking each other isn't going to help things." Naomi forced the glass into Cooper's hand. "Now you drink this or I'll make sure you're put on an IV at the hospital to force the fluids into you. And you," she said turning to Violet, "keep your remarks to yourself."

"Yes, Mom," Violet moaned sarcastically.

"How are you feeling Pete?" Violet asked. Pete had been silent the entire time.

"I'm actually feeling a lot better," Pete replied. "Maybe it was just-" he stopped short as he sat up. "Oh God," he said running to the bathroom.

"I'm suing the restaurant," Violet moaned. "I'm soo suing them."

In the kitchen, Sam and Addison were taking refuge. Sam grimaced as he heard Pete vomiting.

"What the hell did they eat?" Sam asked Addison.

"The spaghetti," Addison replied. "I thought it tasted really good."

"I think they've turned me off it for life," Sam said gesturing towards the living room. "It's like night of the living dead out there. And that's a new sofa too. If they… I don't even wanna think about it."

"They must have inferior immune systems," Addison said. "Or maybe they've been out of hospitals for too long."

"Don't jinx yourself, Addie," Naomi warned as she entered the kitchen after practically forcing the water down Cooper's throat.

"What? It's a fact," Addison replied. "People who work in hospitals tend to build up a resistance to certain things. We don't get as sick as lay people."

"We're talking about some serious food poisoning here, Addie," Naomi said as she poured herself a glass of red wine. "I don't even think Addison Forbes Montgomery can withstand its wrath."

"I feel fine!" Addison insisted. "Actually, despite everything that's happened it was a really good night."

"Oooh really?" Naomi asked with a little smile. "Spill." Sam moaned something inaudibly as he poured himself a huge glass of wine. He hated listening to women's gossip but it beat going into the living room.

"We kissed," Addison said.

"How was it?" Naomi asked, wanting to know all of the details.

"Amazing," Addison replied with a smile. "It was dreamy and my heart was pounding but in a good way and I just wanted more." Addison and Naomi noticed Sam drinking his wine particularly quickly and laughed to themselves.

"But do you want to know what was really weird?" Addison asked.

"I was having a fantastic night and three zombies and their leader turned up and set up camp in my house?" Sam suggested. Naomi and Addison laughed.

"Close, but no," Addison replied. "Cooper and Violet were there on a date." Sam spat wine out of his nose at that news. Naomi made a face at him.

"Really?" she asked Addison. "Like on a date with each other?" Addison nodded. "Wow, they sure kept that quiet," Naomi said.

"I know," Addison replied. "It just goes to show that you never really know what's going on in people's lives." Sam and Naomi looked away from each other uncomfortably. "Well," Addison said, "I guess if they're happy then all we can do is- oh no," she said, looking extremely pale.

"Is Addison not invincible?" Sam asked with pretend surprise.

"Shut up," Addison said. "I'm fine. I just- Oh God, no I'm not," she said, pulling her hair back and running towards the bathroom. "Pete! Get out!" she shouted, pounding the door with her fists.

"They're sounding just like a married couple already," Sam joked. Naomi giggled. "Hey, there's something that I want to discuss with you," he said.

"What?" Naomi asked nervously.

"Well," Sam said, sounding just as nervous as Naomi. "Maya is being discharged in a few days."

"Yes," Naomi said, wondering where this was heading.

"And, I was thinking that she's going to need a lot of assistance. I mean, after the brain surgery and everything. It might be good for her to have both her parents around."

"I like that idea," Naomi said shyly.

"And if you want you can sleep in my room," Sam said, sounding a little like a nervous teenager."

"I'd like that," Naomi said blushing.

"And if you like it here then maybe you and Maya would like to stay a little longer," Sam added. Naomi blushed again.

"That sounds nice," she said. She looked up from her feet and into Sam's eyes and saw a look in them that she hadn't seen in years. He was hungry for her. It went beyond mere, physical attraction though. There was a longing in his eyes. He was in love with her all over again.

"Lie down, Addie," Pete said as Addison emerged from the bathroom looking worse for wear.

"I'm fine," Addison insisted.

"No you're not," Pete replied, pouring her a glass of water and handing it to her. "Now lie down." Addison sipped the water and handed it back to Pete, giving in to his orders and lying down on the couch. Pete noticed that she was shivering and placed a blanket over her to keep her warm.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked, worried, seeming to forget how sick he felt. Addison shook her head. Pete sat down on the ground beside the couch where Addison was lying and stroked her hair affectionately. Addison closed her eyes and moaned contently as Pete's strong hands brushed against the side of her face.

"You're okay," Pete said softly as he started to massage Addison's scalp.

"That feels good," Addison said as she felt her body begin to relax. Pete leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

"So does that," she added.

"I aim to please," Pete replied, kissing her again on the cheek. He took one of Addison's hands in his and rested his head beside hers, allowing her to draw comfort from the warmth of his touch.

"This has to be the weirdest date I've ever been on… officially," Addison murmured.

"Me too," Pete replied. "We should do it again sometime. Although maybe we should order the salad next time." They laughed.

"After I sue the restaurant," Violet moaned from the other sofa. Addison and Pete had been so caught up in each other that they had forgotten that Cooper and Violet were still in the room.

"Please don't kiss her on the lips," Cooper moaned from under his blanket. "I really can't handle the thought of a vomit kiss tonight."

"God, you're so disgusting, Cooper!" Violet snapped at him. "Why can't you just be happy for them?"

"Oh please, have you listened to yourself lately?" Cooper replied. "And I am happy for them!" Violet and Cooper looked back over at Pete and Addison to see that they hadn't been listening to a word of what they'd been saying. Instead they were staring intimately into each other's eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

Thank you to the people who have reviewed this fic. It really does keep me going. Please continue to let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy this update.

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

The next morning Naomi and Sam awoke together in Sam's bed. They stared romantically into each other's eyes, each thinking the same thing. Their lips met and they began kissing passionately, their hands exploring each other's bodies. Naomi rolled over and allowed Sam to get on top of her. What was supposed to be a romantic start to the day ended abruptly as they heard a smashing sound from the kitchen. Naomi groaned in annoyance, suddenly remembering that they had company.

"There's probably vomit on my new couch," Sam said with dread in his voice. The romantic mood had died.

"Sorry!" Cooper shouted.

"Yep, definitely not in the mood now," Naomi said, climbing out of bed and putting her robe on. "What the hell's going on?" a scantly clad Naomi asked. She was followed by Sam who was half naked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Cooper replied with raised eyebrows.

"That's… none of your business," Sam stammered. He went around to see what Cooper had broken. "That was our wedding china!" he said sounding more upset about it than any of them had expected.

"You kept our wedding china?" Naomi asked, seemingly touched by the gesture.

"Of course," Sam said gently.  
"Are you two-" Cooper started to ask.

"Minding our own business?" Naomi interrupted. "Yes, as a matter of fact we are. You should try it."

"Ouch!" Cooper replied. He looked over at the couch. "Eww, Violet's drooling," he said. "Has anybody got a camera?"

"Don't be cruel," Naomi said as Sam cleaned up the remains of the broken china. She went over to the couch and gently woke Violet. "Hey," she said softly as Violet opened her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly alright," Violet answered once she remembered where she was and why she was there.

"Aww look at the lovebirds," Cooper teased.

"Cooper, grow up and leave Sam and I alone!" Naomi replied irritably.

"Not you," Cooper said, trying to suppress his laughter over Naomi's admission. "Pete and Addison." They all turned their attention to the other couch to find Pete and Addison cuddled together under a blanket. They looked peaceful and very comfortable in each other's company.

"That's cute," Violet said with a little giggle. "I don't wanna wake them."

"Neither do I but I need to make sure that they're right to work today. Are you two?" Violet and Cooper nodded.

"Who wants breakfast?" Sam asked from the kitchen. "I may as well make it for everyone."

"Did someone say breakfast?" Addison asked faintly, slowly opening her eyes.

"She's fine to work," Naomi said to Sam. Addison yawned and turned to Pete. She admired his chiseled features from up close, running her hand down the side of his face, seemingly unaware of their audience. Addison kissed Pete on the lips as he slept and ran her hand along his muscular arm.

"Aww," Violet cooed as she watched. This seemed to snap Addison back to reality. She looked around and saw Violet, Naomi, Cooper and Sam watching. She cleared her throat in her most professional tone and sat up without making eye contact with them. Without a word Addison walked into the bathroom and seconds later they heard the shower running. They all couldn't help but giggle at the sudden public display of affection that they had witnessed. Moments later Pete awoke. He rubbed his eyes and yawned sleepily. He opened his eyes and jumped slightly at the sight of all eyes being on him.

"This is weird," he muttered.

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Addison stepped out of the shower after washing her hair and wrapped a towel around herself.

"Stop being embarrassed," she scolded herself in the mirror. "So they laughed? You have nothing to be ashamed about. You are Addison Forbes Montgomery. You are an intelligent, appealing woman who deserves a healthy love life. There is nothing wrong with that." Addison heard a knock on the door.

"Addison, when you're finished taking to yourself, I need the shower," Violet said from outside. Addison blushed, embarrassed at her pep talk being overheard. That embarrassment vanished, however, as she opened the door and matched out with a burst of confidence.

"Excuse me, I have something to say," Addison, dressed only in a towel with dripping wet hair, announced. The attention of her colleagues, who were eating pancakes, turned to her. "I don't like the way you all judged me this morning. You should be happy for me. I am a successful double board certified neo natal surgeon and I deserve some happiness in my private life. Sam and Naomi, you have each other." Sam and Naomi blushed, embarrassed. "And Cooper and Violet, you're a couple now so-"

"What?" Cooper asked from the dining table. "Where'd you get that idea?" Violet's face turned an embarrassing shade of red.

"Look," Addison said, raising her voice. "My point is that I don't judge you so I'd appreciate it if you didn't judge Pete and I." Addison finished speaking and waited for her colleagues to say something. "Yeah… soo I'm done," Addison added, realizing how ridiculous she must have looked and sounded. "You can stop staring now."

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"I can't believe you did that!" Naomi said, overwhelmed by laugher as she and Addison rode the elevator on their way to visit Maya in the neurological ward of the hospital.

"I was trying to make a point," Addison replied, but she couldn't help but laugh at the thought of her post shower outburst to everyone. "Plus I hadn't had my coffee. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it." Naomi laughed again as the elevator doors opened. Naomi and Addison stepped out and were confronted with a very welcome sight. Maya, with the help of a nurse, was walking. This was a big deal for a patient who had recently had brain surgery. It confirmed the doctor's words that Maya would be left with no long term physical damage.

Naomi's eyes filled with tears as the nurse let go of Maya and she took some steps on her own. She didn't stumble once.

"You just made my day, baby," Naomi said emotionally.

"The speech therapist also said that my speech hasn't been affected at all from the accident or the surgery," Maya said proudly.

"I could have told you that," Addison teased affectionately. She and Naomi took over from the nurse, standing on each side of Maya as she walked on her own back to her room.

"Did you have a good night?" Maya asked them.

"Uh… it was… interesting," Addison replied.

"Good is probably a stretch of the imagination," Naomi added. Maya looked confused. Naomi and Addison helped her back into bed and Naomi gave Maya a bagel that she had purchased for her on the way to the hospital.

"Thank you," Maya said, relieved. "I hate this hospital food. I can't wait until I can eat your homemade spaghetti bolognaise again, Mom." Naomi and Addison's stomachs churned simultaneously at the thought of eating the very food that had been responsible for their eventful night.

"We'll see about that," Naomi said dismissively as she fussed over Maya.

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"Hey, Dell," Pete said as he entered the foyer of the Practice.

"Hey!" Dell replied. "How was last night?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Pete said, the food poisoning memories still too fresh. "I have a favor to ask you."

"Sure," Dell replied.

"I need you to go to the store and get these items." Pete handed Dell a list which he perused.

"Oooh romantic!" Dell replied, impressed.

"I'm hoping so," Pete said with a smile. "I'm planning a picnic lunch for Addison on the beach. I want it to be a surprise though so be discrete."

"She won't suspect a thing," Dell promised.


	19. Chapter 19

I did mean to update this fic sooner but life got in the way. I am sorry about the delay. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Please review for me. I love knowing what people think.

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

Pete checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. It was almost time for Addison's surprise picnic on the beach and he wanted it to be perfect. Pete left his office and went to the front desk.

"Ready?" Dell asked with a mischievous smile. Pete nodded, quietly confident.

"Ready for what?" Addison asked, going over to Dell's desk.

"Nothing!" Dell said, a little too defensively. Pete glared at him.

"Is everything okay, Dell?" Addison asked suspiciously.

"Absolutely," Dell replied, trying to cover his tracks.

"Are you going somewhere?" Addison asked Pete. "You look as though you're about to leave."

"Yeah… I uh… I have a house call," Pete replied.

"Oh," Addison said, a little disappointed.

"What's wrong?" Pete asked.

"I just thought you might like to have lunch together. But that's okay. Another day?"

"Sounds great," Pete said with a smile. Addison smiled flirtatiously at Pete and strutted back to her office. "Hurry!" Pete said to Dell as soon as Addison closed her office door. Dell handed Pete a picnic basket filled with a big red ribbon tied in a bow around the handle and a picnic blanket. "Send her down in ten minutes." Pete said, as he rushed out of the door.

Pete headed down to the beach. He was relieved to see that it was a beautiful, sunshine filled day. He was sure that, based on the luck that he and Addison were having lately, a thunderstorm would hit at lunchtime. Pete found a perfect spot on the beach with a spectacular view of the ocean. He spread the blanket on the sand and opened the picnic basket, pleased to see that Dell had followed his instructions. Pete poured two glasses of the finest sparkling grape juice, his substitute for wine since it was still office hours. Then he set up the food: strawberries, grapes, salad, freshly baked bread with sundries tomatoes and olives, an assortment of cheeses. Lots of little things for them to snack on. He rearranged the food over and over again, hoping that Addison would love it.

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Back at the practice, Naomi entered Addison's office with a big smile on her face.

"I just need that file back," Naomi said as Addison typed away at her computer.

"What file?" Addison asked, absentmindedly.

"The Robertson file," Naomi replied.

"Oh, I accidentally filed it with my stuff," Addison said. "Sorry, I'll get it."

"No, its okay, I'll get it," Naomi volunteered with a smile. She went over to the filing cabinet and started humming to herself as she searched for the file.

"You're humming," Addison observed, watching her.

"Yes," Naomi smiled back.

"You don't hum," Addison said, trying to point out that Naomi wasn't behaving normally.

"Life is good," Naomi replied as she found the file. "My baby girl gets out of hospital soon and Mrs. Robertson is now pregnant thanks to me."

"Forgetting anything?" Addison asked with a wry smile. Naomi blushed but didn't say anything. "Oh just admit it already!" Addison said with a laugh. "You're happy because you're getting some."

"Addison!" Naomi said, shocked.

"It's okay," Addison replied. "I mean, it's great. It's not something you should be hiding… unless…" Addison studied Naomi's face. Her jaw dropped. "You're in love with him!" she exclaimed loudly.

"Shhh!" Naomi said, rushing over to the door and closing it.

"You're head over heals in love with Sam," Addison said.

"Yes, I am, okay?" Naomi admitted. "And it scares the hell out of me because I'm making myself vulnerable to him hurting me again."

"Do you think he feels the same way?" Addison asked. Naomi nodded.

"He's asked me to move in with him when Maya comes out of the hospital… and then stay when she's rehabilitated." Addison grinned.

"And are you going to?" Addison asked. Naomi smiled.

"As much as it scares me, I'm crazy about him again," Naomi admitted. "I'm starting to think that the time apart made us realize what we had and what we took for granted. I think it'll be different this time."

"Well good for you," Addison said happily. She was thrilled that Naomi had found happiness. There was a knock at Addison's door.

"Come in," Addison said. Dell opened the door.

"You need to go down to the beach," he said. "It's one of your patients."

"Which one?" Addison asked. Dell hadn't thought this far ahead.

"Uh… the pregnant one?" he said, immediately regretting it.

"What's happened?" Addison asked.

"She's having the baby right now," Dell replied, thinking on his feet.

"Have they called an ambulance?" Addison asked, gathering up medical supplies.

"No, there's no time," Dell said, taking Addison by the arm so that she dropped her equipment.

"Hey! I need that!" Addison shouted out as Dell led her through the practice.

"No you don't, hurry!" Dell opened the elevator and pushed Addison into it just as Sam stepped out of it.

"If you hurt her again, I'll kill you," Addison warned Sam with a pointed finger as the elevator doors closed.

"Think she fell for it?" Dell asked Naomi when Addison was out of sight.

"Totally," Naomi said with a smile.

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Addison raced out of the practice and pulled her high heals off her feet. She knew they'd slow her down and they were way too expensive to get ruined by the sand. Addison made her way to the beach and searched frantically for a pregnant woman in trouble.

"Addison!" she heard a familiar voice call out. Addison turned around and saw Pete sitting by the water on a picnic blanket.

"So much for a house call," Addison muttered to herself as she ran over to Pete. "You've got to help me," she said, flustered, when she reached him. "One of my patients is-"

"Just fine," Pete interrupted with a knowing smile.

"What?" Addison asked, completely confused.

"That was a set up to get you down here so that I could surprise you with lunch," Pete said. It took a few moments for Addison to process everything.

"Oh," she finally said. "You really had me there."

"Take a seat," Pete said. Addison smiled as she saw the display that he had set up.

"Wow!" Addison exclaimed as she sat down on the blanket. "You did all this?" Pete nodded and leaned forward to kiss Addison.

"Too soon?" he asked as his lips were mere centimeters from hers.

"Not at all," Addison replied, happily accepting his kiss. "This is wonderful," she said, blushing a little after their kiss. She couldn't believe that Pete had gone to all that trouble for her benefit.

Pete handed Addison a champagne glass filled with sparkling grape juice.

"I would like to make a little toast," he said. He and Addison raised their glasses. "Here's to new beginnings that don't involve food poisoning." Addison laughed and clinked her glass against Pete's.

"To new beginnings," Addison said.

Pete and Addison ate lunch on the beach, completely oblivious to what everybody else was doing. When they had finished eating they packed up and decided to take a stroll on the beach.

"This doesn't happen to me," Addison admitted as Pete gently took his hand in hers.

"What do you mean?" Pete asked, confused. Addison looked out at the ocean, embarrassed.

"In the past men haven't done this kind of thing for me, gone to this kind of trouble, I mean. They were always busy or in love with someone else. Sure there were gifts and things but it was always detached and it never felt personal. No picnics, no walks on the beach. It just really means a lot that you put thought into what you did."

"I'm glad to hear it," Pete said. "And those men in your past… well their loss is my gain." Addison laughed dismissively. "I'm serious," Pete said. "Don't let the way men have treated you in the past determine your self worth."

"That sounds like something Violet would say to one of her patients," Addison joked.

"It's true," Pete said. "You're wonderful just as you are. And you're worth more than a million lunches on the beach." Addison turned to Pete to make sure that he wasn't kidding but she saw a very different look in his eyes. Once again, their lips met for a passionate kiss, that lingered, their tongues exploring each other's mouths and their arms wrapped around each other's bodies, the ocean lapping at their feet.


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you to those who have been reviewing. I really like hearing from you so please continue to let me know what you think. Just a heads up that this is the second last chapter of this story.

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

After their lunch, Addison and Pete strolled hand in hand back to the Practice, laughing and enjoying each other's company.

"Hey Cooper can I borrow-" Violet started as she went into Cooper's office. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked as she saw Cooper peering through the blinds. "I thought we talked about you staring at the cute blondes."

"I'm staring at Pete and Addison," Cooper called back, not looking away from the window.

"Oooh let me see!" Violet said, rushing over to where Cooper was and peering though the blinds.

"Wow they look happy," Violet observed. "Really happy.

"Cooper, where is the file on the-" Naomi started. She stopped when she saw Cooper and Violet staring through the blinds. "What are you looking at?" she asked.

"Cooper! Stop staring at the blondes!" Violet said, hitting Cooper on the arm.

"I thought you talked to him about that," Naomi said to Violet.

"I did," Violet said with a shrug. "I guess I'll have to talk to him about it again." Naomi shook her head.

"Cooper, you're not going to hold on to Violet if you're blatantly staring at other women," she said. Cooper looked confused as Naomi took the file that she had been looking for from his desk and left his office.

"I'm not going to hold on to you?" Cooper asked Violet. "Why does everyone here think we're a couple?"

"Oh no," Violet said, realizing what was going on. She turned to Cooper with a guilty expression on her face. "Last night at the restaurant, before everyone got sick, Addison spotted me… I couldn't tell her that we were spying on them so I told her that we were on a date." Cooper raised his eyebrows and burst out laughing.

"And she believed you?" Violet nodded and couldn't stop herself from laughing as well.

"I promise I'll set them straight."

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Naomi, Dell and Sam each pretended to be busy as Pete and Addison stepped out of the elevator. Sam shuffled through paperwork, Naomi pretended to be looking for something and Dell pretended to be on the cordless phone scheduling an appointment. Pete walked Addison to her office. When they got to the door he leant forward and kissed her passionately, not caring if anybody was watching. Addison didn't care either. She felt amazing. It had been so long since she'd felt that way and she wanted to yell it from the rooftops. As they kissed the office phone rang. Pete and Addison looked over at Dell who was blushing with embarrassment as they realized that he had only been pretending to be taking a call. They were being watched. Addison laughed to herself, kissed Pete tenderly once more before going into her office.

Pete went back to his own office with a satisfied smile on his face and Sam followed him.

"Come in!" Addison called out as she heard a knock on her door. Naomi opened the door and went into Addison's office to find her best friend lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling with a dreamy look on her face.

"Oh my God, Addie," Naomi exclaimed. "I haven't seen you with that look on your face since… I don't know if I ever have." Addison didn't say anything. She just looked at Naomi with the same dreamy smile and stared back into space.

"So how was it?" Naomi asked, moving Addison's feet so that she could sit on the couch as well.

"It was…" Addison started. She didn't know how to describe it. It wasn't what Pete had done for her but how he had made her feel. For the first time in a long time she felt as though she was really alive, that she was important, that she mattered. "Well… am I gonna get details?" Naomi asked impatiently. "I have a patient arriving in five minutes." Addison continued to stare dreamily at the ceiling, lost in her own little world. Naomi knew exactly how she felt. It was the same way that she had felt after being with Sam as of late. She smiled to herself as she left Addison in her little dream world.

"So, how was it?" Sam asked as he went into Pete's office. Pete was sitting at his desk with his head propped up against his arm. He too was smiling to himself, staring into space. Being with Addison in all her vibrancy and seeing her smile and laugh had given him a feeling that had been absent for so long. It was a feeling that he had wondered if he would ever experience again. He felt as though she had brought him back to life and that all the negative stuff, all the darkness, didn't matter anymore.

"Well?" Sam asked but he wasn't even sure if Pete had noticed him. He was in another world. Sam understood that. It was how he felt every time that he saw Naomi.

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That afternoon, after they had finished at the practice, Naomi and Sam walked hand and hand into Maya's room at the hospital. Maya looked up from her magazine, confused.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, worried. She wondered if this meant that she was dying or something.

"Everything's wonderful, baby," Naomi said with a smile as she went over to her daughter and gave a her a kiss on her forehead.

"Your mother's right," Sam said. "Things couldn't be better."

"Okay can you please explain to me what's going on?" Maya asked. "Because you're freaking me out."

"Your father and I are getting back together," Naomi announced.

"For real?" Maya asked. This seemed too good to be true. "Because if you're kidding me this really isn't funny."

"We're not kidding you," Naomi promised. Naomi and Sam weren't sure how Maya would react and they were surprised to see her start to cry.

"What is it, honey?" Sam asked gently.

"I prayed for this every night," Maya said through her tears. "When I blew the candles out on my birthday cake I wished for this."

"Well your wish came true, baby," Naomi said with a smile. "When you come home we're all going to live at daddy's place."

"And it'll be just like it was?" Maya asked.

"It'll be better," Sam promised.

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Pete knocked on the door to Addison's office.

"Come in," she said. "Oh hey!" she smiled, happy to see him. "I'm just finishing off some paperwork."

"I can wait," Pete said, taking a seat on Addison's couch. "I just wondered if you'd like to go for a walk on the beach with me." Addison smiled.

"I would," she replied, happily. Addison glanced down at the paperwork again and stood up. "I can finish this in the morning," she said. "Let's go." Pete grabbed Addison's coat and helped her into it and they left the practice hand in hand.


	21. Chapter 21

Sadly this is the last chapter of this fic. I've really enjoyed writing it. I love the PP characters so it's been a lot of fun to write them. Thank you to the people who have read and reviewed this fic. I'm glad you've enjoyed it. Please review for me one last time. I hope everyone's well and that you enjoy this.

**CHAPTER TWENTY ONE **

_Eight months later_

"Addison?" Naomi shouted out from Addison's front door.

"It's unlocked," Addison replied. "I'm out the back." Naomi, Sam, Maya and a couple of Maya's girlfriends entered the house and went to the back porch where Addison was setting up for dinner at sunset.

"Hi, Aunt Addison," Maya said cheerfully.

"Hey sweetie," Addison replied with a smile.

"Mom, we're just gonna go hang out on the beach okay?" Maya said. Naomi nodded cautiously as Maya and her friends ran down to the sand.

"Don't go too far!" Naomi shouted after them. "Don't go in the water, don't wander anywhere where I can't see you, don't-"

"Calm down," Sam whispered in Naomi's ear as he lovingly wrapped his arms around her from behind. "She's safe." Addison smiled to herself as she watched Naomi turn to face Sam and tenderly kiss him on the lips. Ever since Maya's accident, Naomi had been even more protective than usual. After what they had been though, Addison understood that she had every reason to be. Addison watched as Maya laughed and strolled along the beach with her friends. It was hard to imagine that she was the same girl who had to have brain surgery months earlier. Maya had made a full recovery. It hadn't been an easy road but Sam and Naomi made sure that Maya had got there. Now her hair had grown back and was cropped in a short, funky style that girls at her school had started to copy. She was no longer grounded, although when out socialising she knew to expect several phone calls from her mother.

Naomi and Sam were going strong. Now they would freely admit that their time apart had been the best thing for them. They were just as in love as they had been when they were at college, possibly even more so. As independent as Maya liked to seem, she had thrived having her parents back together again. Naomi and Sam couldn't remember the last time they'd seen her so at ease.

"Hey, man," Pete said to Sam as he joined them on the back porch. He handed Sam a beer while Naomi watched Addison from a distance.

"What's up with you?" Naomi asked Addison.

"What do you mean?" Addison asked confused as she poured a glass of wine for Naomi and herself.

"Something's different," Naomi said, analyzing Addison.

"I had a haircut," Addison offered.

"No, it's something… deeper. You seem more… calm or something. I don't know but you're definitely different."

_I can't get anything past her, _Addison thought to herself.

"The benefits of living with a holistic doctor," Addison joked. "Hey, Cooper!" she said as Naomi continued to study her. She handed Cooper a beer. "I thought you were bringing a date."

"Yeah…" Cooper said, sounding disappointed. "She had a… thing."

"What kind of thing?" Pete asked.

"A husband," Cooper muttered, embarrassed.

"Cooper!" Naomi said, shocked.

"What? I didn't know!" Cooper replied defensively.

"Did 'bootylicous blonde 102' stand you up?" Violet asked as she joined them outside. Everybody laughed. "Aww, don't worry, Cooper. There's always bootylicous blonde 103," Violet said as they sat down.

"It's not the same," Cooper mumbled to himself.

An hour later, their Pete had cooked everybody dinner on the barbeque and they all sat down to eat.

"This smells amazing," Cooper said, digging in.

"It sure does," Sam agreed.

"Um, guys, before we eat, can I just make an announcement?" Addison asked. Everybody nodded and waited for Cooper to swallow the food in his mouth. This seemed to take ages.

"I'm good," he finally said.

"Okay, well," Addison began. "There's a reason you're here, besides Pete showing of his barbeque skills." Everybody laughed as Addison and Pete reached over and held hands at the table. "We'd like to officially announce our engagement." Naomi and Violet's jaws dropped.

"Oh my God!" Naomi screamed. She stood up and went over to Addison, hugging her. "I knew something was different about you! I knew it!"

"Congratulations!" Violet said as she hugged Addison as well. "You're going to make such a beautiful bride!" Pete, Sam and Cooper sat back and watched the hysterics of the women in the group.

"Congratulations, man," Sam said, extending his hand to Pete who shook it.

"Yeah, congrats," Cooper added, doing the same.

When everybody had temporarily stopped celebrating the good news, they all sat back down.

"I think all the screaming sent me deaf a little bit," Cooper said.

"Me too," Sam agreed.

"Men are so unromantic," Violet said, with a roll of the eyes.

"I beg to differ," Pete spoke up. "If you saw how I proposed: candles rose petals, champagne…" Addison smiled at the memory.

"Stop it," Cooper interrupted. "You're making the rest of us look bad."

"Let's toast," Naomi said raising her glass. "To Pete and Addison."

"To Pete and Addison," everybody said as they toasted the happy couple.

"And to my maid of honor," Addison said, looking straight at Naomi.

"You want me to be… oh my God!" she screamed again.

"Remind me to get earplugs the next time somebody gets engaged, Sam whispered to Pete who laughed.

"And let's toast to my beautiful bridesmaids, Maya and Violet." Maya's jaw dropped.

"Awesome!" she squealed happily at the news. Violet looked like she was going to cry.

"Thank you," she mouthed to Addison.

"I'd also like to propose a toast," Pete said, raising his glass. "To my beautiful fiancée Addison and my best man, Sam." Everybody toasted.

"What about groomsmen?" Cooper asked, keenly.

"We're still trying to figure that out," Pete answered.

"Pete doesn't have a lot of male friends," Addison spoke up.  
"Honey, I-" Pete started.

"You know its true," Addison said. "I mean, obviously there's Cooper."

"I'm a whole lotta best man," Cooper said. "You don't even need two."

"Let's discuss this later," Pete said as he sipped his drink. "I don't want to get caught up in the spectacle and forget the reason behind it."

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After they had finished their dinner, Naomi and Sam decided to call it a night. Addison couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched her friends leave hand in hand, trailed by Maya and her friends.

"Do you think we'll ever get married again?" Sam asked Naomi as they walked next door to their house. Naomi shrugged.

"It's a piece of paper," she said. Sam looked surprised.

"Am I talking to the same woman who spent eighteen months wedding planning the first time?" Naomi laughed.

"It's just not as important to me now. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be Addison's maid of honor. It's just that, well… we don't need a piece of paper to tell us that we belong together for the rest of our lives."

"I couldn't agree more," Sam said, as he kissed Naomi on the lips.

"Are you gonna go home or just sit here all night feeling sorry for yourself?" Violet asked Cooper as she spotted him sitting on the sidewalk outside Addison's house. Cooper sighed and stood up. "Wow, you're really down about your date being married," she said.

"It's not that," Cooper said, sadly. "It's just… do you ever wonder if you're gonna spend the rest of your life alone?" Violet nodded.

"All the time," she confessed. "But then I know I'm not alone as long as you're here." She gave Cooper a little smile and he smiled back. "Ice cream?" Violet suggested.

"I could so go some ice cream right now," Cooper said as Violet put her arm around him and lead him to his car.

"That went well," Addison said as she and Pete danced slowly on the porch under the moonlight.

"Did you think it wouldn't?" Pete asked, as he kissed Addison's neck softly.

"No," Addison replied. "I just feel like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?'

"Yeah, I do," Pete said. "But I think it's about time our luck changed. We deserve it."

"That we do," Addison agreed, her heart racing as Pete worked his lips up from her neck, to her jaw line and to her lips.

"I say we start turning our luck around right now," Pete said with a cheeky smile as he picked Addison up and led her to the bedroom, Addison laughing happily all the way there.

**THE END **


End file.
